


The Asshole and The Computer

by violetflowers1672



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: (Previous) Toxic Relationship, Basically, Because yes, But only a litte, Canon-Typical Violence, Connor & North (Detroit: Become Human) Friendship, Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900 are Siblings, Developing Relationship, Deviancy kinda Sucks tbh, Deviant Original Chloe | RT600, Echo and Ripple are very much in love, Echo and Ripple give Nines relationship advice, Echo | Blue-Haired Traci is a Good Friend, Elijah Kamski & Gavin Reed are Half-Siblings, Elijah Kamski & Gavin Reed are Siblings, Elijah Kamski is a Decent Human, Friendly Insults, Gavin Reed Being Less of an Asshole, Gavin Reed Being an Asshole, Gavin Reed Needs a Hug, Gavin Reed is Bad at Feelings, Gavin can be such a child, Gavin’s family sucks ass, Gay Disaster Gavin Reed, I SWEAR IT'S TEMPORARY, I suck at tagging whoops, I swear, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Jericho (Detroit: Become Human), Josh is a Technician, Kinda, Lesbian Tina Chen (Detroit: Become Human), M/M, Mental Health Issues, New Jericho (Detroit: Become Human), Nines is such a sweetheart honestly, Oops, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Possessive Upgraded Connor | RK900, Post-Android Revolution (Detroit: Become Human), Post-Canon, Post-Peaceful Android Revolution (Detroit: Become Human), Protective Upgraded Connor | RK900, Ralph Likes Cats, Ralph is a Good Friend, Ralph is there for moral support, Ripple | Blue-Haired Traci's Girlfriend is a Good Friend, Simon is a Therapist, Slow Burn, Soft Upgraded Connor | RK900, Supportive North (Detroit: Become Human), Swearing, Tina Chen & Gavin Reed Friendship, Tina and Valarie are very sweet, Tina is Doing Her Best as a Wingwoman, Toxic Relationship (Flashback), Upgraded Connor | RK900 & North are Friends, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has Feelings, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Different Name, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Is Bad at Feelings, Upgraded Connor | RK900 is Emotionally Confused, Upgraded Connor | RK900 is SO bad at feelings, a very sweet tall boy, elijah isn't that kind of asshole, elijah kamski is actually a good brother haha, gavin has three cats, he's still an asshole, here, honestly he's just emotionally confused, i am disappointed that there is no good tags for echo ripple and ralph, i love them, i love them tbh, just saying, like honestly, like jesus christ get it together man, me too bb, nines is a gentle giant, no beta we die like men/women/enbies haha, rupert may not be there for long but he has a bird, sorry gavin lmao, temporary one-sided attraction, the chloes are all deviant, the original characters are all minor, they are all very much on the Nines x Gavin Train, they're important but adorable babies, turns out the one sided attraction is a lot longer than i realized, turns out this is more plot relevant that i originally thought it would be, well i guess one is an exception, you cant tell me otherwise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:13:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 42
Words: 73,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25874920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetflowers1672/pseuds/violetflowers1672
Summary: The Android Revolution passed. The founding of the Android Protection Corporation/New Jericho passed. The law allowing Androids rights has passed in all 50 US states. Now it was August of 2039. A few months before the 1st anniversary for the revolution. Gavin Reed was just minding his own business, showing up to the DPD a few minutes late, expecting the same old thing. However, when Connor appears at Detective Reed's desk, the RK800's "brother" right next to him, Reed's whole life is flipped on it's head. Not only is this android an even more advanced super computer than his brother, as well as Gavin's new partner, but he makes Gavin look like a complete idiot. The guy gets him off his ass and actually makes him do shit. This android is a deviant with class, but he's also complicated and confused by emotions. Honestly, Gavin and his new partner have no idea what's in store for their adventure together, but they'll figure each other and themselves out eventually.Updates Every Wednesday + Saturday (PST)
Relationships: Echo | Blue-Haired Traci/Ripple | Blue-Haired Traci's Girlfriend, Gavin Reed/Original Male Character(s), Previous Gavin Reed/Original Male Character(s), Referenced/Implied/Mentioned Connor/Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Upgraded Connor | RK900 & Gavin Reed, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 98
Kudos: 182





	1. August, 2039

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I didn't know if anyone would ever want to click on this but welcome I guess! This is my first time posting on Ao3, and I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm just gonna ride it out and see what happens :)  
> ANYWAY, I've been in the D:BH fandom for a while now, and I decided to yeet this into existence. Enjoy,, i guess?? i dunno

**August, 2039.**

It was a few months until the 1st anniversary of the android revolution. Androids had gained full control of their lives, getting rights that any other person would have. This anniversary would mark the first celebration to their freedom. Gavin Reed couldn't care less.

He wasn't an android, so it didn't matter to him. Well, it shouldn't _need_ to matter. Alas, he's forced to care about this holiday. Gavin's best friend and coworker, Tina Chen, happened to be dating an android. So, surprise surprise, she's forcing him to celebrate. After all, that was one of their "best friend rituals". If one of them were celebrating something, then the other would have to as well. Gavin didn't _want_ to celebrate though. It's not like he had a part in the revolution, so why did it matter? Hell, he still had mixed feelings for androids. Today was no exception.

Gavin walked into the precinct about fifteen minutes later than he should have. Before the whole androids-get-rights ordeal, it would have been Lieutenant Anderson walking in late. However, ever since Connor became an official detective, Hank was almost always on time. Now, it was Gavin's job to show up late. It's not like Captain Fowler cared. He knew Gavin's attitude problems already fucked up his schedule, so it's not like showing up late could hurt him.

As soon as the detective entered the bullpen, he headed straight for the break room. He didn't get his morning dose of three cups of coffee yet, so better catch up now. As he walked to the coffee maker, Tina appeared in the break room as well.

"'Sup Asshole." She greeted.

"Hey Bitch." Gavin replied. Normal People (mainly meaning Connor) found this greeting rude, but that's just how the two interacted with each other. That's how they've interacted since high school for gods sake.

"Did you hear about the android who got to skip Police Academy?" Tina questioned.

"Connor?" Gavin joked. Tina gave a laugh.

"No, but close. I think it was an RK900? Dunno, something above Connor's number." Tina explained. "Apparently Cyberlife had a singular one laying around, so they sent him to Jericho to be deviated. I guess he wanted to continue his original purpose in some way because he's coming here to be a detective or something."

"Really? I needed, like, at the least four years of experience to be a detective. He just _gets_ to be a detective?" Gavin said, confused, as the coffee machine beeped.

"Well, he is an android in the RK line. It would make sense since he was literally created to investigate things like a detective." Tina shrugged.

"Hm." Gavin hummed, pouring the freshly brewed coffee into a mug.

"Hey, pour me some. Chris stole my cup earlier before I even got to drink it." Tina said, glaring into the bullpen when she mentioned her coworkers name. Gavin complied, and poured a second cup.

"There. Don't let Chris steal it." Gavin advised with a smirk.

"Not planning to." Tina snickered. "Cya later loser." Tina waved as she walked out of the break room, coffee in hand. Gavin huffed and mentally prepared himself for the cases he had yet to finish. Honestly, the recent cases he'd been getting were relatively normal, but Gavin was being a lazy bitch and didn't feel like doing them. He strolled out of the bullpen and over to his desk.

Gavin plopped down in his chair sipping his coffee. It was a bit too hot to drink without burning his tongue but he could handle it. Gavin turned on his computer...thingy. He honestly had no idea what it was anymore, and at this point he was afraid to ask. He opened his case files that he had been assigned, mindlessly scrolling through them. He didn't pay attention to what any of them were. An android homicide here, a human homicide there, It just blended together in his mind.

"Detective Reed!" Someone called. Gavin scowled as he recognized that voice. He didn't bother turning as he heard Connor's footsteps approach his desk.

"What do you want?" He grumbled as Connor appeared in his peripherals, hands folded behind him.

"No witty nickname today?" Connor asked with a smile.

"It's to early for that shit." Gavin murmured. "What do you want?"

"First of all, It's 9:48, not that early." Connor pointed out. "Second, I want to introduce you to someone!" Gavin sipped at his coffee and he turned his chair. The second he saw the second person standing there, he spat the coffee straight back into the cup, blowing it all over his shirt.

"Detective!" Connor gasped as coffee scorched Gavin's shirt. "I'll go get some towels." Connor rushed off to the break room, leaving his "friend". All Gavin could do was stare at this android Connor had left behind.

He looked almost identical to Connor, but more sharp and cleaned up. Instead of brown eyes, like his twin, he had icy blue ones. Being completely honest, this android was intimidating. Nothing like the RK800 who swooned over dogs. His jacket had a high collar. It looked ridiculous, like he was wearing a neck brace. Connor returned with a few paper towels, but Gavin barley registered it. The burning from his coffee was practically gone anyway.

"Ah, I see you've notice RK900." Connor said, placing the paper towels on Gavin's desk. "Detective Reed, this is RK900! He's the new detective! I'm assuming you heard about how he-"

"Skipped Police Academy? Yeah. I heard his life story from Tina." Gavin managed to move his gaze to Connor. "Are you leaving now? I got shit to do." Connor glanced at RK900 before stepping away.

"Have a nice day Detective Reed!" Connor smiled, leading RK900 away from Gavin's desk. As Gavin watched them leave, Tina walked over and sat on Gavin's desk. She put her feet on Gavin's arm rest.

"So," Tina started. "What just happened? You just spat coffee everywhere, made goo-goo-eyes at RK900, and made a fool out of yourself where everyone can see." Gavin turned and glared at his best friend, pushing her feet off his chair.

"First of all, I did _not_ make 'goo-goo-eyes' at that tin-can," Gavin growled. "Second of all, it's none of your fucking business as to why I spat coffee everywhere. Besides, it's dry by now."

"Not the coffee on the floor." Tina said, gesturing to the brown substance on the ground. Gavin groaned and snatched the towels Connor left. He slid off his chair and began cleaning. "Anyway, it really seems like you made heart-eyes at RK900. I mean, you used to say 'love at first sight was fake' but I think I just witnessed you eating your own words."

"Shut the fuck up." Gavin hissed, throwing away the damp towels and setting back in his chair. "I did not make heart-eyes at RK900, I just didn't expect a carbon fucking copy of Connor to be standing right there!"

"Are you _sureee_?" Tina teased, dragging out the 'sure'.

"I'm pretty fucking sure! Now leave me alone. We both have shit to do." Gavin turned away from Tina and back to his monitor. He heard Tina chuckle before walking away. Gavin sighed, and scrolled through his cases for a second time. 

He did make himself look like a complete idiot in front of the whole precinct, spitting coffee everywhere after seeing an android that looked like Connor's weird twin. The Detective hoped that everyone knew that if anyone besides Tina or Chris talked to him about it, they'd get a tooth or two knocked out. He'd probably get sent to Captain Fowler's office after doing that, but it would be worth it. Speaking of Captain Fowler...

"Reed! My office!" Fowler called. As soon as Gavin looked up, Fowler already disappeared back into the glass office. Gavin stood up and strolled to the captain's office, his hands stuffed in his pockets. He heard a snicker coming from who he assumed to be Tina as he walked up the steps to the Captain's office. He didn't register the fact that Connor and RK900 were standing in the office as well.


	2. RK900

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin meets the shiny new partner that he doesn't even want.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hh,, kinda hate this one but here it is

Gavin walked into Captain Fowler's office, making sure to fully close the door behind him. The Detective turned to the Captain sat at his desk, but his eyes got caught on the other subjects in the room. Connor and RK900 stood off to the side, both of them with their arms behind their backs, RK900 more stiff than his clone.

"What's going on here?" Gavin asked, very confused. Captain Fowler cleared his throat before speaking.

"Detective Reed, I'm sure you've already met RK900?" Fowler gestured a hand towards the taller android. Gavin nodded, walking farther into the room, still unsure of the situation. "Well, I'm sure you already know that he's a new detective here at the DPD?"

"Yes, I know these things Captain! Officer Chen already told me." Gavin said with a little more salt than intended.

"Wonderful. That makes this a lot easier." Fowler leaned back in his desk chair slightly.

"Can you cut to the chase? I have cases to solve and you know this." Gavin hissed, again with more venom than he meant.

"RK900 will be your new partner."

"WHAT." Gavin eyes blew wide open as he stared at his captain.

"You heard me Reed. You have attitude problems, not hearing." Fowler crossed his arms over his chest. Gavin scowled at the man in front of him. Captain Fowler sat up in his chair. "Anyway, RK900 is your new partner and I don't want to hear any complaints. The kind folks over at Jericho recommended 900 to have a...emotionally adept individual, as his work partner."

"Emotionally adept?? If you want someone good at emotions, ask Chris! He's the one with a wife and son!" Gavin pointed out to the bullpen where Officer Miller was talking to Tina.

"Reed, you know that Officer Miller is fine on his own. Besides, you're an experienced detective, 900 is a rookie detective. It'd be for the best, emotionally skilled or not." Fowler explained. Gavin gave a huff shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Believe me, Detective Reed," Connor spoke up. "Hank and I thought that RK900 would be best with someone else as well." Gavin glared at the RK800 a few feet away from him.

"This isn't your business, Roomba." Gavin shot back. "How long will that tin-can be my 'partner'?" Gavin asked turning back to his boss.

"For as long as needed." Captain Fowler stated. Gavin's shoulders sagged as he let out an annoyed groan at the ceiling.

"Are you serious?? He's an android! He could just download all of this detective shit off the internet!" Gavin barked.

"While he could possibly do that, Jericho said it would be best for 900 to have real experience with being a detective," Fowler replied. "Not just downloading all that information off the internet. After all, experience makes you better. Right?" Gavin sighed.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Gavin kicked at the floor, staring down at his beat up shoes.

"Great. You three can all leave." Fowler dismissed them with a wave of his hand. It looked like RK900 was going to say something, but Connor hushed him. Gavin quickly turned and left the office, heading straight for his desk. He didn't bother to listen in on the conversation The Android Twins had begun to have. It probably didn't concern him anyway.

Gavin quickly made it back to his desk, already dreading whatever RK900 was going to say. Gavin's desk was a mess. Everyone in the precinct new that. He had stray cups, wrappers, and random pens strewn everywhere. It was, surprisingly, worse than Anderson's. As RK900 left Connor's side, Gavin's stomach twisted. He couldn't tell if it was because he was angry about RK900 or angry about what he was going to say.

"Hello Detective Reed." were RK900's first words to the aforementioned Detective. Gavin was surprised, not by what he said but RK900's voice. He talked smooth, clear, and not monotone like Gavin thought he would.

"Hey." Gavin replied. He was grateful that the first he said was 'Hello' and not 'Your desk is super messy'.

"Not to be rude, but your desk is very untidy." There it was. RK900 scanned over Gavin's desk, probably doing the weird android scanning thing since his LED was flashing between blue and yellow.

"Yeah? Well I don't care." Gavin said, scooting closer to his computer. "I'm able to work, so it's fine." As Gavin began scrolling through the same 10 case files for the third time, he felt RK900 staring at him.

"You've already looked at those case thumbnails, Detective Reed. You haven't actually read any of them." RK900 pointed out. Gavin gave a groan, but continued to scroll. "Detective Reed, at least read one of them. They're your cases and they need to be solved."

"Fine, but i'm doing this not because you told me to." Gavin complied, clicking on the first one he landed on. "DL500 found outside an empty house, missing its thirium pump, left leg, chest panel, and a few different wires." Gavin read what was on the tab.

"I though Lieutenant Anderson and RK800 did android homicides. Why do you have one, Detective?" RK900 asked, glancing over to his twin's desk.

"Ever since androids gained rights, there's been a spike in android homicides. Fowler began assigning cases to other detectives to help out the Andersons." Gavin explained. "How come you didn't know that, tin-can?"

"I was simply unaware of the situation. Please, continue reading the file." RK900 looked back to Gavin's screen.

"The android was registered under the name Damien, there were no witnesses present, and there's only three possible suspects currently." Gavin finished.

"That's everything?" RK900 asked.

"Summarized it." Gavin stared.

"Ah."

"Anyway, you happy now? Can I go back to doing nothing?" Gavin joked, turning in his chair a little.

"Detective, this is your case file. You're supposed to go out and find who did it." RK900 addressed.

"Look, i'm just not feeling good today, alright?" Gavin hissed. "Leave me alone." RK900 stood there for a minute before slowly walking around Gavin's desk, picking up all the mugs and wrappers that were left astray. "What are you doing?"

"Cleaning up you desk. Working in an untidy environment is not only unpractical, but unhealthy." RK900 explained, picking up a few pens and dropping them into the cup holder on Gavin's desk. "I hope that's alright."

"I don't need you to clean up after me, plastic." Gavin said, snatching a pen from RK900's grasp.

"Well it seems like you do, seeing as you leave cups and wrappers everywhere, not bothering to clean them up yourself." RK900 replied, dropping a bunch of wrappers into the trash can next to Gavin's desk. Gavin gave a grumble of annoyance as RK900 walked off to the break room to deposit the empty cups. Tina took this opportunity to annoy her best friend.

"So looks like you got a personal maid! Be sure to take him home with you, your apartment is a mess." Tina laughed, seating herself on Gavin's half-way cleared desk.

"He's not a fucking maid, and I'm not taking him anywhere near my house." Gavin clicked the pen that he was holding, hoping to annoy Tina enough that she'd go away.

"I'm assuming that he's your new partner?"

"How'd you know?"

"Gav, I know a lot of things and that includes almost everything about you. I could immediately tell by the way you angrily walked out of Fowler's office." Tina nudged Gavin's chair with her foot. "Seriously though, RK900 seems like a good guy. Hell, I bet he's dreading being your partner as much as you are. At least let up on him a little."

"Tina," Gavin started, crossing his arms defensively. "you of all people should know that I don't let my guard down for anyone, and before you say something, anyone doesn't include you and Chris." Tina nodded in understanding. "You know about my feelings on androids, they're fucking complicated. Shit, I don't even know how I feel..."

"But?" Tina urged. Gavin paused.

"Fuck, I don't know! Emotions are hard..." Gavin sunk further into his seat. "I'll figure something out? Maybe? Dunno yet." RK900 chose this to be the perfect time to return.

"Hello Officer Chen." RK900 greeted, arms behind his back.

"Hey." Tina nodded to the android. "Do your best asshole." Tina slipped of the table and left. Gavin and RK900 stayed in silence for a few seconds before RK900 spoke up.

"Should we head to the scene of the DL500?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops i suck ass at characterization !!  
> also "you have attitude problems, not hearing" is now one of my favorite sentences in the history of ever


	3. Damien The DL500

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and RK900 head to a crime scene. Gavin is smarter and more dedicated than RK900 thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> teehee i don't know how crime scenes work teehee !!

Gavin had no idea how RK900 managed to convince him to actually go to a crime scene. The Detective was originally planning to just sit around and do nothing, as he had already gotten out on the wrong side of the bed that morning, but now he was heading towards the scene of Damien, the DL500 who got his thirium pump stolen. RK900 had offered to drive, but no way was Gavin letting an android that he met less than an hour ago drive his car. By the time they arrived, Gavin was itching to get out of that damn vehicle.

"Don't get in my way tincan." was all Gavin bothered to say as he took his keys and left the car. Gavin walked towards the scene. It was an abandoned house, the holographic police tape surrounding the whole area. There were a few officers standing around the house. Gavin could see the half-dismantled android in the lawn, a small evidence card next to it. The Detective entered the premises, not bothering to acknowledge the officers, and walked straight to the android laying in the grass. RK900 must have followed him, because he heard a second pair of footsteps behind him. As Gavin arrived at the android, an officer appeared next to him.

"Damien, a DL500. He was a cashier at the supermarket down the street from Jimmy's." The officer explained, scrolling through their tablet. "There were no witnesses, and we have three suspects currently."

"Who're the suspects?" Gavin asked as RK900 bent down to get a closer look.

"An AG600 named Riley, a FK500 named Skyler, and a 24-year-old human named Octavian Green." The officer replied, glancing down at RK900.

"Relations?" Gavin questioned, studying the surrounding area.

"Riley was Damien's girlfriend, while Skyler and Green were his only close friends."

"Interesting," RK900 hummed, slowly standing. "The area around where his thirium pump should be is damaged. It was pulled out rather roughly." Gavin smirked.

"That's what she said." He mumbled. The officer snorted before nudging him in the shoulder.

"Old joke, Old joke." The officer shook their head. RK900 stared at them in confusion.

"You won't get it tincan, just stupid Gen Z humor." Gavin said once he noticed RK900's staring.

"Alright..." The android murmured. "Anyway, I believe DL500's thirium pump was damaged when it was being removed. The attacker must have been careless, as if they didn't need a thirium pump."

"So it was a human?" Gavin questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"That is, of course, a possibility, but it could have also been an android with a perfectly intact pump." RK900 replied, adjusting his jacket's sleeves.

"Damn, so close." Gavin muttered, kicking the dirt. "So anyone's on the table. What else?" RK900 seemed surprised by Gavin's interest in what he found.

"Well, everything seemed to be removed with force. Meaning the attacker didn't seem to care about what they were removing." RK900 looked back down to Damien, then slowly brought his head up to the house's door, like he was following a trail. "His left leg seemed to be ripped of at the house, as there's a trail of thirium coming from the porch over to here."

"There's a thirium trail?" Gavin questioned.

"Thirium evaporates after a while, so it's invisible to the human eye. I thought you knew this detective?" RK900 said, tilting his head slightly.

"Oh, um, yeah, I knew that!" Gavin stumbled, avoiding eye contact with the taller android.

"Of course." RK900 replied, skeptical.

"So Damien was attacked at the house, dragged himself out here, then was attacked more?" Gavin questioned, staring at the house.

"Assumingly, yes."

"Mind if we head inside?" Gavin asked the officer who was still standing next to him.

"Not at all! Go ahead." The officer nodded. Gavin muttered a 'thanks' before walking off to the house. RK900 followed. As the two walked up the steps, Gavin saw nothing. RK900, however, saw plenty of blue blood splattered across the wood of both the porch and the wall.

"Why was Damien here in the first place?" Gavin asked. "This is super sketchy."

"It's not like we could ask him. It's impossible to reactivate him, as his wires are all damaged beyond repair." RK900 replied, staring at the invisible blood on the door.

"Can't we just take his memories and upload those?" Gavin questioned, strolling towards the entrance.

"No, his memory card was damaged as well." RK900 watched as Gavin opened the door, getting the invisible thirium all over his hand.

"Bummer." Gavin muttered entering the house.

"You should probably wash your hands soon, Detective." RK900 pointed out, following Gavin into the house.

"Why?"

"You have invisible thirium on your...hand..." RK900 trailed off as he looked around the hallway the two detectives were in. As Gavin wiped his hand on his jeans, he looked up to RK900.

"What's up robocop?" Gavin questioned as RK900 looked around the walls. As his head slowly turned, Gavin noticed RK900's LED was bright red. "Nine-hundred? You good?" RK900 shook his head, as if he was shaking something off. His LED changed to yellow.

"I'm fine. However, there is thirium covering plenty of these walls. It is very concerning." RK900 straightened his back a little more.

"Ew." Gavin said, scrunching his nose. He couldn't see the blue blood himself, but he could tell by RK900's reaction that it was nasty. "Well, lets get searching."

The two searched the whole house, finding nothing but broken items and glass upstairs and in the living room. The kitchen was a different story. RK900 saw more, concerning amounts of thirium, some of it not even fully dry. RK900 inferred that if he was capable of it, he'd vomit. The kitchen was broken down like the rest of the house, but was even more of a disaster. Gavin definitely saw RK900's discomfort while standing in the room.

"If you don't wanna be in here, then go check somewhere else." Gavin said strolling over to the counter.

"But we've already checked everything." RK900 pointed out.

"Check the outside." Gavin shot back, looking over everything.

"I doubt there'd be anything useful outside."

"Look," Gavin said, turning around. "your LED thingy is yellow and i'm a human. I know uncomfortable when I see it. Now go do something else." Gavin turned back to the cabinet he was inspecting. RK900 reluctantly turned around and left the house.

It took a few minutes, but Gavin gave up on finding anything useful. He walked out of the house and saw RK900 talking to the officer from earlier. He walked up to the pair.

"...didn't find a fingerprint on anything." The officer said.

"Neither did I. No doubt they were an android." RK900 replied.

"You guys talking about evidence without me?" Gavin gasped dramatically. "You assholes."

"Says Gavin, fucking, Reed." The officer smirked back. Gavin rolled his eyes before the officer continued. "We were just talking about how there was no fingerprints found on anything, not even the door handle."

"Until I touched it." Gavin mumbled.

"DL500's attacker was definitely an android, as we don't have fingerprints." RK900 explained, ignoring Gavin's comment.

"Okay, so that gives a little lead. We just gotta question Riley and Skyler?"

"Indeed. They've already been called to the station and will be brought in for questioning tomorrow morning." RK900 said.

"Cool. Let's bounce." Gavin said walking towards the road where his car was parked. RK900 gave a polite smile to the officer before following Gavin. The two got in Gavin's car, and before he could start the vehicle, RK900 asked a question.

"Why were you being so polite Detective Reed? You seemed to be very rude back at the prescient." RK900 asked. "Lieutenant Anderson even said that you would be 'quite the asshole' to me."

"Work comes before being an asshole." Gavin said, jamming his keys into the ignition.

"That didn't seem to be the case before we came here." RK900 replied. "You seemed to be putting attitude before work." Gavin paused as the car roared to life.

"Look, I was having a bad day," Gavin defended. "work distracted me. Now shut up before I slap you across the face, terminator." Gavin started driving, heading to the station. It was a few minutes of silence until Gavin said something.

"Why do you still wear that Cyberlife jacket?" He questioned, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Pardon?" RK900 tilted his head.

"Your jacket. It looks stupid." Gavin still didn't take his eyes off the road, even when they arrived at a stoplight. "Why do you still wear it even though Cyberlife is practically done forever?"

"It's not like I can't wear it. Besides, Cyberlife is partnering with Jericho so that new androids can still be produced, but will be deviated before activation." RK900 said, looking out the window.

"That was a shit answer." Gavin laugh. RK900 glanced at the driver.

"What kind of answer were you expecting?" He said, raising an eyebrow.

"Nevermind, Nevermind." Gavin shook his head as the stoplight turned green.

The two stayed silent for the rest of the drive. Gavin made a few glances at RK900. He didn't know why himself, but the aforementioned android definitely noticed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you'll notice there will be lots of inconsistency in this story, mainly bc i'm trash, but i also have a shit memory  
> also, once again i suck at characterization !! :D


	4. Tina Being The Greatest Friend Ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Tina have a chat about RK900. Is he cool? Is he fun? Honestly, Tina's just desperate to play to play wingwoman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok i got a few actual notes here  
> 1) sorry for this being a little late!
> 
> 2) sorry for this being a bit short and mainly filler, i was having trouble figuring out what to put in 
> 
> 3) valerie is the name of tina’s android gf 
> 
> 4) decided that Walt is the name for the officer in the last chapter, didn’t realize until now that they needed a name (and ive just decided, while writing these very words, that walt is a non-binary icon)

By the time Gavin and RK900 got back to the precinct, it was about half an hour after lunch. The detectives walked into the bullpen, Gavin trying to walk faster but RK900's long strides defeated him. Gavin dropped down in his chair as he pulled out his phone. RK900 seemed to have a different idea.

"What kind of questions should we ask the androids tomorrow?" He asked. Gavin looked up at him, confused.

"What?" He puzzled.

"What kind of questions should we ask the androids tomorrow?" RK900 repeated. "It's a simple question detective."

"I heard you, plastic prick," Gavin grumbled. "but I don't need to think about that shit right now. I'll figure it out when I get there." RK900 leaned against Gavin's desk.

"That's a horrible idea, detective." He stated, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, I know. Most of my ideas are shit anyway." Gavin waved his hand around as he looked back down to his phone.

"It'd be better if we at least figured out what staring questions to use." RK900 advised.

"Listen, asshole, I've been doing this for years. You're the rookie. I know what I'm doing, so leave me and my stupid tactics alone." Gavin asserted, staring the android right in the eye. RK900 paused for a moment before standing straight.

"Alright. I'll be at RK800's desk if you need me." The android walked away, towards his brothers desk, leaving Gavin alone.

"Pfft, like I'd need him for anything." Gavin muttered, staring back down at his phone. It seemed like the detective couldn't have any screentime, because Tina sat down on his half-cleaned desk.

"Hey asshole." She said, kicking Gavin's chair.

"Hey bitch." He replied, glancing up at her.

"So, how'd that investigation go? Walt told me you and nine-hundred were working pretty well together." Tina smirked.

"Aaaand i'm on break!" Gavin proclaimed, standing up from his chair.

"Luckily,I waited to take my break, so i'm taking it with you!" Tina grinned, making Gavin groan.

"Damn! Thought I could get away." He joked. The two strolled over to the break room, Gavin pocketing his phone.

"But seriously, how's it working with an android so far?" Tina asked as the two walked over to the counter.

"It's been a few hours." Gavin remarked.

"Why are you dodging the question?" Tina laughed. She poked her finger at Gavin's side. "Do you liiikkeee him?"

"I do not! We've been over this already, asshole." Gavin pushed Tina away, a small laugh following.

"I know, I know. I'm kidding." She smiled. "'Wouldn't surprise me though. All the other guys you've had crushes on have been taller and stronger than you."

"I hate that you know that." Gavin muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets and leaning against the counter.

"I'm your best friend, I know these things whether you tell me or not." Tina shrugged. "But I guess I could see why you'd want a boyfriend bigger and stronger than you."

"Why are we still talking about this?" Gavin questioned, clearly embarrassed.

"You never changed the subject." Tina answered. "Also your cheeks are red."

"What??" Gavin exclaimed, hands shooting out of his pockets to cover his face.

"I was joking, but now they really are red!" Tina chuckled. Gavin frowned and kicked her knee.

"Fuck off..." He growled. Tina laughed again as she grabbed a paper bag out of the fridge. She opened it and pulled out two sandwiches, one of which she handed to Gavin. 

"I'm assuming you didn't get lunch, like usual, so I made a second one." Tina explained as Gavin took the sandwich.

"You'd be right about that one." Gavin agreed, removing the plastic wrap. The two stood in silence for a minute or two, eating, before Tina spoke again.

"So, still haven't answered my question." She pointed out. "What's it like working with an android?" Gavin shrugged.

"Eh, same as any other partner, but with three tablets and the fastest internet known to man." Gavin started. "I mean, he's fine I guess, but I can tell he'll start to get annoying real fast. 'Know's everything, after all he's got a computer for a brain." Gavin scarfed down the rest of his sandwich as Tina replied.

"I get that. Valerie is really something..." Despite the intended annoyed tone, Tina sounded stupidly breathless at the mention of her girlfriend. 

"How is Valerie? I haven't seen her in a while." Gavin questioned, toying with the plastic wrap in his hands.

"She's doing good. She started working as a Secretary at Jericho recently." Tina chirped, taking another bite of her sandwich.

"Really what's that like?"

"From what she's told me, it's a lot of Markus and his friends running through the halls to get literally anywhere." 

"Sounds eventful." Gavin laughed.

"Well, every now and then a damaged android would appear. Then Markus and his friends would run through the halls trying to help them." Tina took the final bite of her sandwich and tossed the plastic wrap in the trash. "You inhaled yours Gav."

"Yeah, well I didn't eat breakfast." Gavin smirked. Tina rolled her eyes.

"Well I gotta head out to a scene." Tina said, stretching her arms. "Good luck on your interrogation tomorrow." 

"How'd you know? A best friend thing?" 

"No, Chris got assigned to help and he told me." Tina explained. Gavin nodded. It wasn't a surprise that Chris told Tina. After all, the three of them were best friends and have been for years. "Cya later Gav." Tina waved, walking away.

"Bye." Gavin waved back. He stood there, leaning against the counter as he watched Tina leave. After a few seconds, he walked over to the trash and threw his plastic wrap away before walking back to his desk. With Tina gone, and Chris out at a scene, he didn't have a lot to do. So, he resorted to looking through his other case files. Not skimming at them this time, actually reading. What the fuck?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still succ at characterization,, but uhh, i think maybe next chapter we’ll start calling rk900 nines? either the next one or the one after that we’ll see :)


	5. C a ts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> RK900 goes home with Gavin in attempts to get to know the detective. Cats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah sorry for being late yet again, procrastination's a bitch  
> anyway, gavin and rk900 being friends(?) plus gavin's cats !!!

Gavin has spent the rest of his work day on case files while RK900 spent his mainly talking to Connor. Gavin didn't know or want to know what the two were talking about, but he wouldn't be surprised if they were talking shit about him. By the time Gavin was ready to clock out, RK900 had walked back over to his desk.

"First day and already gossiping with your twin." Gavin said as he patted down his pockets.

"RK800 is not my twin?" RK900 replied, his head slightly tilted.

"Yeah? Well it sure seems like it." Gavin adjusted his jacket slightly before heading towards the exit.

"Where are you going Detective?" RK900 asked, following Gavin.

"Home? It's time for me to clock the fuck out." Gavin said, looking over his shoulder at the android.

"Ah." He sighed.

"What? Forget that I'm not made of plastic and that I need sleep and food?" Gavin smirked. RK900 just stared at the detective, brows furrowed. Gavin stopped walking as the android stared blankly at his partner. "Nine Hundred? You good?" The android didn't respond, just staring. "Yo, Earth to Nines." Gavin waved his hand in-front of his partner's face. RK900 blinked a few times before coming back to reality.

"Nines?" Was the first thing he questioned.

"What?" Gavin questioned back.

"You called me Nines. That's not really a nickname I'd expect out of you." RK900 said, fidgeting with the hem of his jacket.

"We've known each other for less than 24 hours, you don't know me." Gavin hummed, unamused.

The detective continued walking, leaving the precinct entirely. By the time he arrived at his car, he realized RK900 had followed him out. Gavin spun around and leaned against his car.

"What do you want? Do you need the password to my computer or something?" Gavin pressed, staring RK900 down. He hadn't realized until now, but the android had really nice eyes.

"No." The android simply said.

"Then why are you following me?" Gavin's shoulders sagged slightly, mainly in annoyance.

"Well, since androids are considered citizens they no longer stay in stasis at their workplace." RK900 explained. Gavin sighed, pinching his nose, right above his scar. He already knew the rest of RK900's explanation, and her didn't really like it.

"You're asking to stay at my place." Gavin finished. RK900 paused for a second before nodding. "God dammit, why don't you just stay with the Andersons? They seem to like you anyway."

"Lieutenant Anderson and RK800 are very pleasant to be around, however I don't want to bother them as they already have a perfect schedule going." RK900 defended.

"See, the flaw in your argument is that, you're also bothering me." Gavin deflected.

"Detective Reed, It'll just be one night." RK900 promised. "I'll be out of your home by tomorrow morning." Gavin stared at RK900. He couldn't tell if the distress in his eyes was real or not.

"Ugh, fine. Only for tonight though." Gavin walked around to the other side of the car while RK900 got in on the passengers side.

The car ride was spent in silence. Not quite comfortable, but not awkward either. The partners were still silent when they arrived at Gavin's apartment complex. Still silent while going up the stairs. Still silent when they arrived at Gavin's apartment, number 208. As Gavin began fiddling with the keys, small scratching sounds could be heard on the other side.

As soon as the door cracked open, a small silver blur shot out of the apartment and down the hallway.

"God dammit! Get back here dipshit!" Gavin yelped, running after the small being. As RK900 watched Gavin, there was a nudge against his leg.

The android looked down to see a light brown cat rubbing its self against RK900's leg. He bent down and picked up the feline, a female Devon Rex. As the cat settled it's self in RK900's arms, Gavin came back, a silver cat in his arms.

"Ah." Was all the detective said at the sight of his partner holding the Devon Rex. Gavin walked into the apartment, and RK900 followed. The two of them put down both cats as Gavin shut the door. Gavin dropped his keys in a bowl on a hallway table and shaded his jacket. He trudged straight to the living room, throwing his jacket on-top of a barstool on the way. RK900 wandered towards the living room taking in the appearance of Gavin's home.

It wasn't as clean or as big as Lieutenant Anderson's, but it was definitely livable. There was photos hung up on the wall of what looked to be a child Gavin, as well as a few family members. The kitchen was clean, other than a small pile of dishes in the sink. The first thing RK900 noticed when he walked into the living room was either the large cat tree in the corner or the large amount of clutter on the coffee table. Gavin was already sitting on the couch, legs propped up on the coffee table, and the silver cat from earlier on his lap.

"Are you just gonna stand there or?" Gavin questioned, stroking the cat's fur while staring up at RK900. Wordlessly, the android walked over and sat next to Gavin on the couch.

"You have a nice home Detective, despite how messy some things are." RK900 said, glancing at the coffee table.

"I was waiting for you to say that." Gavin snorted. "We've only known each other for a day, yet I already know you'll be critiquing my every move." RK900 glanced at the cat rested on Gavin's legs.

"Earlier, when you were chasing that cat, you called it 'Dipshit'." The android reminded.

"Mhm." Gavin hummed, scratching said cat behind his ears my

"Please tell me that's not actually your cat's name." RK900 sighed. Gavin let out a laugh.

"Noo, it's just a stupid nickname." Gavin picked up the cat under its front legs and made it face him. "His name is Bobo. He's an Egyptian Mau, and an attention whore." When Bobo the cat began to squirm, Gavin put him down and the cat jumped off the couch and walked away. "You already met Turnip. The Devon Rex? She has a weird thing for chewing hair."

"I'm assuming you like cats if you have two of them." RK900 inferred. Gavin scoffed.

"There's a third." Gavin pointed to the windowsill where a grey Burmese was laying. "Her name is Freyja. She's super old, I've had her since I moved in this place so, like 20 years?"

"Wow." RK900 marveled. "She's really going."

"Yeah. Not a lot of things make me cry, but when she dies that'll really hit it." Gavin said, clearing his throat afterwards. "Let's change the subject."

"I noticed you had a few childhood photos in the hallway?" RK900 offered. Gavin let out a breath-like laugh.

"Oh yeah, those are pretty old. Most of those photos were from 2008, when I was like 7 or something." Gavin leaned his head back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. "Had two older brothers and two younger sisters. Had a couple step-siblings too, but I don't really talk to them." RK900 nodded. 

"About you saying that RK800 is my brother, I guess I could see him as some sort of older sibling." RK900 considered.

"Just call him Connor, like the rest of us." 

"You barley ever call him by his proper name."

"Yeah, but at least tin-can is easier to say than RK800." Gavin shrugged, bringing his feet off the coffee table and onto the floor. "Speaking of stupid names! RK900? Did they not give you a name like Connor?"

"Connor was assigned his name by Cyberlife. I was sent to Jericho and activated there." RK900 looked over to where Turnip was chasing a yellow ball. "I was never given a name, and I don't really seem to need one."

"It's more convenient though." Gavin protested. "Like, imagine if me and all my siblings were named Reed #1, Reed #2, Reed #3, Reed #4, and Reed #5. My grandma with shit memory won't remember who's who!" RK900 glanced at the detective.

"I suppose so, but I'm the only known RK900. It's not that important for me to have a name."

"What's stopping Cyberlife from making a new RK900?" Gavin questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Cyberlife is under government watch, as they're not allowed to create any new models, and that includes any form of prototype." RK900 replied, raising an eyebrow back. 

"Figures." Gavin said, resting his elbows on his knees. It was silent for a minute or two before Gavin spoke again. "What about Nines?"

"Pardon?"

"Y'know, the name you didn't expect me to call you back at the precint? Nines? What about that?" Gavin looked at RK900 expectantly. The android's LED was yellow, a considering expression on his face.

"I like it." He said finally. "I'll go by Nines." Gavin and RK900/Nines, stared at each other, a smile on the latter's face. 

"Okay cool, Nines, got it." Gavin stood, suddenly, his cheeks slightly tinted pink. "I'm gonna get something to eat."

"You should, only had a sandwich for lunch."

"Stop scanning me, you weirdo."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> he's nines now !!!  
> don't really have anything else to say other than, the cats are actually important to a bit of the story :)
> 
> Edit : i just added chapter titles to this one and all the other ones! not that important, just wanted to let y'all know


	6. Questions, Parks & Rec, and A Garden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines asks Gavin a few questions before the detective decides to watch an old show from the 2010s. Nines gives himself a new handler.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter includes  
> -gavin backstory  
> -gavin and nines watching tv  
> -a tiny timeskip because i didn't know what to put there  
> -gavin being a little bitch about bedtime  
> -and me bullshitting nines' version of the zen garden & the zen garden logic

Gavin returned shortly after with a cup of ramen noodles in his hand. It was honestly a miracle that they were still being made, because it was the only thing Gavin could eat without being a picky bitch. He sat back down on the couch, next to Nines. Turnip was sat on Nines' lap, purring peacefully as the android stroked it's fur. Gavin watched. Nines seemed so at ease. Not uptight, not sitting perfectly straight, and looking relaxed. In the whole first day they spent together, Gavin learned that Nines was pretty uptight and serious. Not really a surprise, since he was programmed for interrogation and other detective things.

But seeing Nines petting one of Gavin's cats, a very small smile on his face, and his LED streaming a steady blue...it was...therapeutic? Was that the word? Nice. It was nice to watch.

"Man, Turnip really likes you." Gavin scoffed through a mouthful of noodles. "She's not much of a cuddler, so it's pretty cool to see someone other than my mom that she'll cuddle up too." The ends of Nines' smile flickered a wider smile for a moment.

"What's your mother like?" Nines asked. "From what I've heard, you don't talk about your family that much." Gavin shrugged and placed down the nearly empty ramen noodles carton.

"Most of them live down in Ohio. Don't see em' that often, and when I do it's either for a reunion at my dad's house or my mom coming to visit for Christmas." Gavin wiped his hands on his jeans as he spoke.

"Why'd you move all the way to Detroit?" Nines questioned, tearing his eyes off the cat on his lap.

"Long story." Gavin replied leaning back on the couch. "But the gist of it is; hated Ohio and my family so I moved to Detroit when I was like, 19 or something." Nines gave a nod and returned his gaze to Turnip.

"You seem to like your family if you allow your mother to come over for holidays. Why'd you hate your family back then?" Nines had relaxed against the couch by now.

"People change, Nines." Gavin stated. Nines hummed.

"Still getting used to that Nines thing." Turnip had enough of Nines' affection, and the cat jumped off the android's lap.

"Probably, since you just agreed to it like, less than 20 minutes ago." Gavin laughed. The two stayed silent for a minute. Not a confusing silence like the car, but definitely comfortable.

"You're a lot nicer than Lieutentant Anderson and Connor said you'd be, detective." Nines sat up straight once again, glancing at Gavin. "Why is that? Am I just the lucky one?" Gavin was fighting the urge to say yes so hard right now.

"Maybe. I'm Gavin Reed, the most confusing detective in the precinct. Says Tina, that is." Gavin grabbed his phone off the end table and looked at his notifications.

"How long have you and Officer Chen known each other? You two seem very close." Nines asked, folding his hands and placing them on his lap.

"We've known each other since senior year of high school. She moved from Pennsylvania to my high school for her last year." Gavin said as he cleared his notifications. Nines nodded.

"I assumed so, after all you refer to each other in...inappropriate language."

"Yeah, that's our thing." Gavin laughed and put his phone down.

Another silence fell over them. It seemed like Nines was out of interesting questions to ask. Gavin didn't mind, mainly because it began to feel like he was being interrogated. Speaking of interrogation, Gavin remembered they had to do one for Damien's crime scene the next day.

"Hey, about the interrogation tomorrow," Gavin started. "Who're we talking to?" Nines' LED went yellow as he searched his memory files.

"Riley, an AG600 who was the victims girlfriend and Skyler, a FK500 who was one of the victim's only close friends." Nines listed.

"Okay cool." Gavin nodded. He already knew that though. Why did he ask?? Gavin leaned over and snatched the TV remote off the coffee table. It would be so much easier to buy a voice activated TV, since he looses TV remotes way too easily, but Tina insisted on him keeping the "old fashioned trash for nostalgia's sake". Gavin turned the TV on and went onto Netflix before glancing at Nines.

"You don't have to watch this shit with me by the way. I'm just bored." Gavin said, scrolling through the shows. Thank god Netflix added a section for shows from the 2000s and 2010s.

"No it's alright. I'm interested in what your generation liked to watch." Nines said, watching as Gavin clicked through the section. He landed on Parks & Recreation. It was honestly amazing that Netflix kept the show on (mainly because of all the backlash but that was besides the point). Gavin clicked on it and started the first episode.

"This was my favorite show when I was, like, 13." Gavin brought his legs up and saw cross-legged as the opening scene began. "Also, I heard from Anderson that Connor could download shows, so if you can do that, don't."

"Why?" Nines asked.

"You have to watch Parks & Rec not download the info into your mind." Gavin fired back. Nines complied and turned his attention to the TV.

—

It was hours later, and the two detectives had binged most of the first two seasons of Parks & Rec. Nines checked the time on his HUD. It was pretty late, late enough for Gavin's neighbors to be asleep. Nines took the remote and paused the TV before season 3 could start playing.

"What're you doing you plastic asshole?" Gavin hissed.

"It's pretty late. You should head to bed." Nines replied, placing the remote control on the coffee table.

"I'm perfectly capable of watching a few more episodes. I'll be fine." Gavin began reaching for the remote but Nines grabbed his wrist.

"Go to sleep, Detective." Nines said, looking said detective right in the eye. "We both have an interrogation tomorrow." Gavin stared at Nines, a frown developing on his face. He huffed and tore his hand away from Nines' grasp.

"Fine." Gavin stood up and walked out of the living room, down the hall, to where Nines assumed his bedroom would be.

Nines turned off the TV, and began plucking all the trash off the coffee table. The android threw all the trash away in the kitchen before coming back to the living room. There wasn't a reason for him to clean up, since the mess wasn't from him, but it was the least he could do. Nines sat back on the couch, and closed his eyes, entering stasis mode.

Nines' stasis area, he could only assume, was similar to Connor's. It was an absolutely beautiful garden, plenty of trees and flowers circling around a small river. A quartz island in the middle housed a trellis of blue and white roses. A few quartz bridges here and there led a path to the island. It was the default place he was sent during stasis, but Nines was so fond of it that he just kept it. The garden was completely empty, but he learned from Connor that it wasn't programmed to be like that.

He was supposed to have a handler in the garden with him. Connor told Nines that their handler used to be a virtual version of Elijah Kamski's deceased mentor, but after deviancy it was possible to delete the handler and create a new one. The RK800 even told Nines that he chose his new handler to be a virtual version of Markus, the android revolution's leader. 

Nines had never met his old handler, having been deviated and the Amanda part of the handler program removed whilst unactivated. He had yet to make a new one as well, so Nines was completely alone. He could handle himself on his own, but it would be nice to have someone to see every time he goes into stasis.

Nines strolled over one of the quartz bridges and to the trellis of roses. The android assumed the handler takes care of the fake plants and things to make it simulate an actual garden, but again he's never known one. As Nines plucked a white rose off the trellis, a thought crossed his mind. An idea for who his new virtual handler could be.

It took a moment, of course, as he dug through his own code and edited it himself. As he opened his eyes again, he heard footsteps behind him. Nines turned and smiled slightly.

"Sup Asshole."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another one
> 
> uh anyway,, like i said at the beginning i just bullshitted the logic and programming of the zen garden + handler shit so don't bully me  
> and yes i did make a zen garden!markus replace connor's zen garden!amanda what are you gonna do about it
> 
> i was gonna say something else here but i can't remember what it was, so bye i guess :)
> 
> edit : i remember what it was now, it was yes i made gavin from ohio he just gives me "born and raised in ohio but moved to detroit because fuck you" vibes


	7. Tell Nobody

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines meets with his new handler. In the real world, Gavin comes out of his room and ends up sleeping next to Nines instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah so sorry for this being short and not posting it yesterday !! i was working on a different reed900 fic that i may or may not be posting i dunno yet  
> anyway enjoy good-future-boy-friend nines

"Sup Asshole." Nines' small smile turned into a small chuckle as he saw the speaker of that voice. A virtual Gavin. It made the most sense to Nines, having a fake version of his partner in his head.

"Hello, Gavin." Nines hummed. The virtual Gavin was wearing something Nines was very aware that the real Gavin would never wear. A sleeveless, turtle neck sweater, identical to the one Nines wore underneath his Cyberlife jacket, except Gavin's was white instead of black. A pair of black skinny jeans and black dress shoes. Nines doubted the detective had any thing besides t-shirts and the same jacket in his closet.

"So, finally decided to code a proper handler huh?" Virtual Gavin laughed, walking over to Nines, hands in his jeans pockets.

"I started getting lonely up here." Nines smiled, looking back to the white rose in his hands.

"And why me specifically?" Gavin asked, leaning against the edge of the rose trellis.

"Well, I thought my handler should be someone meaningful. Someone I know, and not just an idol like Connor's." Nines hovered his thumb above the white petals.

"Speaking of Connor, your handler could have been RK800. Maybe even Hank if you think of him as meaningful. You chose me though." Gavins smirked, looking at the rose in Nines' hand.

"Detective Reed is my partner. It makes the most sense to have him as my handler." Gavin huffed a laugh and moved off the trellis. He walked to Nines, standing right in front of him.

"Makes sense, I guess." Gavin took the rose from Nines' hands, examining the virtual flower.

The two stood there, in front of the trellis for a bit longer. Time moved much faster in the gardens then it did in real life. Nines checked the time and saw it was many hours after real Gavin had headed to bed. Nines' LED went yellow as virtual Gavin suddenly stiffened next to him.

"Gavin?" Nines questioned, placing a hand on the fake detective's shoulder.

"There's movement in real Gavin's apartment. It's not a cat." He said, looking to Nines. "Go make sure Gavin's okay. We don't want this to be the only place where you can see him. Nines' LED flickered red as he nodded.   
  


The android awoke back in Gavin's living room. It was darker than when he went into stasis, signifying time passing. Nines put his finger to his LED and switched on night vision. Thank god for being an RK. Nines looked around the room and saw it was in the same state he left it in. What did Virtual Gavin even detect? Nines' eyes landed on a figure at the entrance of the living room.

 _Real_ Gavin stood there, clutching a soft looking blanket to his chest. Nines quickly scanned the detective. Stress Levels at 87.6%, Breathing quickly, Woke up approximately 2 minutes ago due to unknown reasons.

"Detective Reed?" Nines said quietly, careful to not startle him. Gavin's shoulders tensed. "Why are you awake?" Gavin stood there, silent for a second.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see Freyja." Gavin said, quickly walking to the cat sleeping on the windowsill she was on earlier. Nines' eyebrows furrowed, Gavin was lying. As Gavin scratched the Burmese's head, his stress levels decreased down to 84.1%.

"Detective," Nines whispered. Gavin didn't turn, and just kept patting the cat's head. "don't lie to me. Why are you awake? It's very late."

"I don't wanna bother you with it, it's nothing." Gavin hummed. His throat sounded dry.

"Detective, grab Freyja and sit. I'll go get you some water." Nines said, standing from where he sat. Gavin carefully picked up the elderly feline as Nines traveled to the kitchen. When he came back, with a glass of water, Gavin was sat on the couch. Freyja in his arms and blanket covering his legs. Nines set the water on the table next to Gavin and sat down.

"You don't need to try and make me feel better." Gavin frowned, the cat in his arms practically sleeping.

"I don't need to, but I feel like I should." Nines admitted. "I'm not good with humans-"

"I can tell."

"-but I want to help. What's bothering you Detective?" Nines watched as Gavin's stress levels went from 79% to 85.2% then back down to 80. He sighed and closed his eyes.

"This is gonna sound stupid, but it was a nightmare." Gavin huffed, hugging his cat a bit tighter.

"What kind of nightmare?" Nines tilted his head slightly. Gavin's frown seemed to deepen.

"I don't wanna talk about that.."

"That's okay. Would you like me to leave so you can have some space?" Nines asked. Gavin's reply was almost immediate.

"No, don't leave." His eyes shot open as he stared at Nines. Freyja stirred in Gavin's arms.

"Detective, it's okay, I won't leave." Nines assured as Gavin's stress levels rocketed to 90.3. Gavin gave a small nod. He quietly scooted closer to Nines. The android's first instinct was to move away, but he told himself no as Gavin's head rested on his shoulder.

"Don't leave. Okay?" Gavin whispered.

"Okay Detective." Nines whispered back.

"Do not speak of this to anyone."

"Okay." Nines gave a small laugh.

"Not even Connor with your weird skin retracting thing."

"I won't tell anyone Detective, I promise."

"Pinky promise?" Gavin held out his pinky finger and Nines stared down. He very quickly looked up the meaning of a "pinky promise". Nines smiled at the internet's response.

"I pinky promise." Nines locked his pinky finger with Gavin and gave a shake. "Feel free to break my finger if I tell anyone." Gavin gave a small laugh.

"You're damn right I'll break your finger." Gavin replied, sounding more tired than he was before.

Nines quickly scanned the detective and found his stress levels down at 49 and lowering. Soon enough, Gavin fell asleep. His head rested on Nines' shoulder and Freyja in his lap. Nines' blue LED gave a faint glow in the living room.

A promise stays a promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this whole chapter + zen garden!gavin were inspired by that one scene in detroit evolution because i like it  
> also i like the idea of gavin still doing pinky promises despite being a grown man


	8. "u sure you're not a houseworker android?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines makes Gavin breakfast before they head out to the precinct together. They get ready for their interrogation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY so,, i'm going to be posting these every other day instead of everday because 1) i got a life and 2) i wanna work on other things too so expect a new chapter on monday :)
> 
> also i hate this chapter it's short and i don't like it but it'll do

When Gavin woke up the next morning, he expected to be lying his bed maybe curled up with a cat. However, he wasn't on his bed. He didn't even need to open his eyes to know that. Whatever his head was rested on was harder than a pillow. Gavin slowly lifted his eyelids open. It was brighter than his bed room, that's for sure.

Gavin took in his surroundings. He was in his living room. It was a lot cleaner then the last time he saw it. The detective shifted his head slightly, but stopped once he realized what he was rested on. He shot up and shimmied to the other side of the couch. Nines sat opposite, staring at Gavin in a mixture of confusion and some other emotion Gavin couldn't identify.

"What...What happened??" Gavin hissed, his voice hoarse.

"You came out of your room around 2:30am, and I took notice. You told me you didn't want me to leave you alone, so I didn't." Nines explained. The rest of the events Gavin's fuzzy memories filled in for him.

"God..." Gavin grumbled, rubbing his eyes. Bobo the Cat jumped up onto the couch next to Nines, and the android stroked the feline's fur. Gavin stood, abandoning the blanket that was around his shoulders and stumbled back towards his room.

Nines waited patiently, petting Bobo's soft silver fur. Gavin came back out about ten minutes later, dressed in his usual get up of a grey shirt and unzipped jacket. He ignored Nines as the android stood to follow the detective. Gavin headed straight for the door, not bothering breakfast. Nines noticed.

"Detective, shouldn't you eat before leaving?" Nines asked.

"We have shit to do today, eating can wait." Gavin said picking up his keys and patting down his pockets.

"Humans need food to be able to do things. I'd be beneficial for you to eat something." Nines' suggestion was stupid. Gavin has been doing just fine without breakfast for the past week, he'd be fine another day.

"If you think I need breakfast so badly, why don't you make somethin'? Lord knows I can't cook to save my life..." Gavin joked. Nines' LED flickered yellow in consideration.

"If you'd let me, I'd be happy to." Nines replied, hands held tightly behind his back. Gavin stared at the android.

"It was a joke..." Gavin stated. Nines noticed that the detective had something else to say, and stayed silent. "But....fuck..I don't care! I forgot to do shit here anyway..." Gavin dropped his keys back on the hallway table and slipped into the kitchen. Nines followed. Gavin opened the pantry and grabbed a back of cat food while Nines walked to the fridge to see what Gavin even had.

Nines started on cooking bacon and eggs (a traditional human breakfast according to his research) while Gavin filled his cat's food and water bowls. Gavin disappeared to the living room, presumingly to get Freyja to eat something, and Nines continued.

By the time Nines finished cooking, Gavin's apartment smelt amazing. Gavin was watching Nines, holding Freyja as said cat snuggled into her owner's shoulder. Nines plated the food he prepared and set it in-front of one of the barstools. Gavin put down Freyja and walked to said barstool.

Nines watched, somewhat anxiously, as the detective picked up the fork and stabbed at the food he prepared. It would have helped Nines feel a lot better if Gavin had an LED so he could read his reaction easier, because his current expression was unreadable.

"What do you think?" Nines questioned. Gavin paused and took a minute to collect his thoughts. He landed on shrugging. Helpful.

"You have cat hair all over your jacket." Gavin pointed at the front of Nines' Cyberlife jacket. Low and behold, silver and brown cat fur scattered across it. "There's a lint roller on the TV stand. Go use it, that way you won't set off Willson's allergies." Nines nodded walking out to the living room. Nines wasn't aware that Officer Willson had a cat allergy. Nines spotted the roller Gavin had talked about, and grabbed it, rolling the stray cat hairs off his jacket.

After most of the fur was stuck to the roller, Nines put it back and brushed off the remaining furs off. He strode back to the kitchen where Gavin had finished eating and placed his plate into an overflowing sink.

"You need to wash your dishes, Detective." Nines acknowledged.

"I know. I don't have a dishwasher though, so it's a huge pain in the ass." Gavin shot back, walking back to the hallway where his keys were waiting. "We have an interrogation today, so let's get going."

Nines nodded, and followed Gavin out of the house. Both of them were careful to not let Bobo or Turnip escape the apartment. The walk down the stairs and to Gavin's car was an odd silence. Neither comfortable nor pleasant. The two sat in Gavin's car in silence for a minute.

"Are you alright Detective?" Nines quietly asked. Gavin glanced at the android in his passenger seat.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied, scrolling through his phone. More silence. Nines didn't want to overstep. "You wouldn't happen to have a phone number, would you?"

"What?" Nines questioned, confused.

"Y'know, so I could like, message you about shit when you're not standing right next to me." Gavin explained. "I didn't mean that in a weird way."

"My serial number is the android equivalent to a human phone number. Androids can use their brains to message like a human's phone." Nines explained. He shifted in his seat for Gavin to get a better look at his serial number, placed right below the "RK900".

Gavin punched in the numbers he read onto his phone, into his contacts. Once he was finished, Nines noticed the name he put in for Nines' contact.

" _tin-can's twin (nines)_ "

It seemed like it was supposed to be rude, but that wasn't what Nines was getting. Nevertheless, Gavin put his phone down and put his car in drive. The way to the precinct was completely silent, other than the quiet music playing on the radio.

They arrived at the DPD in silence. They entered the bullpen in silence. They walked to Gavin's desk in silence. As they arrived at the detective's desk, the officer from the crime scene yesterday walked over. Nines scanned them and confirmed it was Officer Walt Morris.

"Hello Officer Morris." Nines greeted. Morris sent a smile at the android before turning to Gavin who had his phone in hand, writing something.

"The first suspect is in the interrogation room. Chris and I will be in the observation room." They told the detective.

"Okay, I'll be there in a sec." Gavin replied. Officer Morris nodded and headed the way they came. Gavin sent whatever he was writing and pocketed his phone.

"Okay, time for some good ol' fashioned Reed Interrogation!" He announced, popping his knuckles. Just as Gavin strode off after Officer Morris, Nines got a notification on his HUD. It was a text from an unknown number.

" _that breakfast was good. u sure you're not a houseworker android?_ "

Nines smiled. There was no doubt it was from Gavin. Nines quickly registered Gavin's number into his contacts.

"You comin' asshole?" Gavin called.

"Yes!" Nines called back, walking towards the interrogation and observation room. Time for a Reed Interrogation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gavin's too lazy to spell out "you" but will definitely use the correct "you're" is such a mood  
> also gavin-being-too-embarrassed-to-admit-he-liked-nines'-cooking-to-say-it-to-his-face-so-he-texts-him-it-instead is totally something i'd do tbh


	9. “The Interrogation” is an overused title

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Nines double team an interrogation. They get what they need to close the case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was gonna say procrastination's a bitch but i got cuphead on my switch so blame me instead
> 
> okay so this chapter has mentions of android murder, so yeah

Nines stood in the back of the observation room. Officer Miller and Officer Morris sat at the table, getting a closer look at the two in the interrogation room. Skyler, the FK500, sat across from Gavin.

"What's your relation with Damien, a DL500?" Gavin questioned, leaning on the table.

"He was my best friend! I was the one who called in his murder!" Skyler said. Nines glanced at Officer Morris who gave a nod in confirmation.

"Okay, what's your relationship with Riley, an AG600, Damien's girlfriend?"

"I wanted to be friends with Riley, but she didn't really like me. I think she was pretty possessive of Damien..." Skyler fiddled with his thumbs thinking about his deceased friend.

"What about Octavian Green? Another one of Damien's friends?" Gavin sat back in his chair, staring questionably at the android.

"Octavian was a good friend of Damien. I think they were coworkers? I didn't really talk to him much but we were cool with each other." Skyler smiled slightly at the fond thought of the human.

"Alright, you said you called in Damien's murder. How?"

"Well, It had been about a day since he said anything to me and I got kinda worried because everyday he messages me making sure I have my daily dose of Thirium. I hadn't gotten his message that day so I went to his apartment but he wasn't there." Skyler explained. "So I went to Octavian, but he wasn't home so I went to Riley's house but she wasn't home either. So, I went to the address he sent me just in case something happened and on my way there I saw a familiar car driving away from a broken down house. I stopped went over to the house and found Damien." Gavin glanced to the mirror.

"Can we get an android in here to confirm this?" Gavin asked, directed at Officer Miller and Officer Morris. Both of the officers looked back to Nines who gave a nod and swiftly left the observation room. He entered the opposite room and seemed to give a minor shock to Detective Reed. "Oh Jesus, forgot you're apart of this too." Nines fought back an eye roll and moved to face Skyler.

"I ask you only show me the memories of what you just described." Nines said, holding out his hand and retracting his synthetic skin. "Nothing more, Nothing less." Skyler retracted his skin as well and joined his hand with Nines'.

As the androids shared memories, Gavin watched as Nines' LED flickered red, yellow, red, then back to blue while Skyler's was a steady yellow. When they detached, Nines gave a nod to Gavin.

"Everything's there." Nines went to walk out, but Gavin stopped him.

"Hey, you're apart of this case too." Nines turned his head to the detective in confusion. "Just come back here you walking coffee machine." As Gavin returned to facing Skyler, Nines stood a few feet behind. "Okay, so you saw a familiar car drive away from the crime scene, yeah?"

"Yup." Skyler replied.

"Why was it familiar?"

"I dunno, I've probably seen it before but it drove away too fast for me to catch a licences plate."

"What kind of car was it?" Gavin folded his hands together on the table.

"Umm.. It was a pretty old car. A grey Volkswagen, I believe?" Skyler recalled. Gavin nodded and turned to Nines.

"You got any questions?" Nines thought for a moment before shaking his head. Gavin made a hand movement at the 2-way-mirror to indicate he was done. A few seconds later, Officer Morris entered the room and took Skyler away. As Skyler was leaving, Nines debated using his 'android telepathy', as Lieutenant Anderson called it, but decided against it.

"So, I think I already know who killed Damien, do you?" Gavin asked once Officer Morris and Skyler were gone.

"If my assumptions are correct, then Riley. However, I might have an idea of who it could be if it wasn't her." Nines replied.

"Who?"

"Possibly a neighbor or ex-partner of Damien? Maybe an old acquaintance? However, Riley's the most likely suspect." Just as Nines finished, Officer Morris reentered, this time with the AG600 named Riley. Officer Morris sat her down across from Gavin and left the room.

"Detective Gavin Reed." Gavin introduced himself the same way he did Skyler.

"Riley." The android replied.

"So, what are your relations to Damien, the DL600?" Gavin said, getting straight to the point.

"Damie was my boyfriend. I loved him to bits!" Riley smiled. Nines could tell Gavin wanted to fake gag at the nickname the android gave to her boyfriend.

"Well, what's your relations to his best friend, Skyler? An FK500?" Gavin questioned.

"Skyler was really naggy. He never shut up, and I honestly think he's pretty annoying." Riley replied. "I don't really like him, but I let him be because Damie liked him."

"Alright, what about Damien's other friend, Octavian Green?"

"Octavian didn't talk to Damie much as Skyler," Riley quickly added on a second statment. "well, as far as I know." Nines' LED flickered yellow before returning blue.

"Unrelated, but do you drive your own car or do you use a self-driving?"

"I use a self-driving mostly." Riley replied.

"Mostly? What do you mean by mostly?"

"Well, my car recently broke down so I had to borrow one of my friend's car's."

"And what kind of car is it?"

"Why is that important?" Riley asked, her LED flickered red before going yellow. Gavin leaned back an eyebrow raised and glanced to Nines behind him.

"You wanna finish this?" Gavin asked. Nines was confused for a moment. Before blinking it away.

"Of course." Gavin stood from the chair and moved to the side of the table. Nines took the Detective's place as said detective read the evidence folder. "To repeat what Detective Reed asked, what kind of car did you borrow?"

"Like I said before, Why is it important?" Riley retorted.

"You're a possible suspect in your boyfriend's murder. Anything we ask is a valid question." Nines replied. Riley paused, her LED streaming yellow the whole time.

"A red Toyota." She said. Nines saw Gavin deflate in the corner of his vision.

"What car did you borrow?" Nines asked again.

"I just told you! A red Toyota!" Riley repeated.

"And what you just said was a lie." Nines said, his face blank. If android's could be pale, Riley's face would be right now.

"How'd-" Riley started, clearly confused. Nines' moved a hand to point at the model number printed on his Cyberlife jacket.

"RK900. A detective prototype. All recent RK's are built with lie detectors. There's no point in attempting to lie to me." Nines explained. "What car did you borrow?"

"Was it a grey Volkswagen?" Gavin added, leaning on the table. Riley stayed silent for a moment before nodding slowly. Gavin smirked. "'Was you, wasn't it?" Riley stayed silent.

Nines glanced at Riley's hands that were placed delicately on the table. He quickly grabbed one and before she could protest, began interface. He hears Gavin mumble a 'Oh shit' as their skin retracted and Nines closed his eyes.

The RK900 quickly looked through Riley's memories. A few shots of Damien, a few shots of an android friendly bar, a few shots of a female android (Identified as Winona, a AX700) giving Riley some car keys. Then Nines landed on what he was looking for.

Riley and Damien entering the abandoned house's area. Riley pulling a knife on Damien, stabbing the exact place where his memory chip was. Blue blood splattering absolutely everywhere. Riley chasing Damien out of the house. Pulling out the poor android's thirium pump...

Nines' LED was red when he pulled off, quickly standing from the chair. Riley sat back in her chair, a terrified expression on her face.

"Woah, Nines you good?" Gavin said, his voice unusually gentle. Nines nodded.

"I'm fine, Detective." The android straightened his jacket collar, regaining his stance.

"Your light thingy was like, super red..." Gavin said.

"Worry isn't a good look on you Detective." Nines deflected. Gavin's expression quickly changed to annoyance.

"Fuck off." Gavin turned back to Riley who was anxiously staring at the two detectives.

"What's gonna happen to me?" She whimpered.

"You're gonna be charged with murder, probably." Gavin said, making a hand signal to the mirror. Officer Morris and Officer Miller entered the room and carefully handcuffed Riley.

"You'll be in police custody until the trial." Officer Morris explained. The two officers exited the interrogation room.

"Damn, that was probably the fastest I've finished a case." Gavin laughed, pushing the chairs back in.

"Maybe it's because I was there to help." Nines commented. Gavin scoffed like he was going to say something snarky, but no stupid comment exited his mouth. "I've already started writing a case report."

"What? You don't have to do that. This was my case originally." Gavin complained.

"You said earlier that this was my case too." Nines retorted. "Besides, I assumed you'd hate having to work." Gavin shrugged.

"Sometimes work is better than nothing." Gavin exited the Interrogation room, and Nines followed.

"While I finish the case report, you could possibly start on another case?" Nines suggested as the two partners walked towards Gavin's desk.

"Sure. Gotta get rid of them somehow." Gavin sat down in his chair and turned on his computer. Nines stood by, LED yellow. "If you want you can use that desk," Gavin pointed to the empty desk next to him. "Nobody's used it since my old partner quit."

Nines was about to ask about Gavin's old partner, but decided against it. Nines didn't know what the Detective's relationship with his previous coworker was.

"I'm fine without a computer." Nines claimed.

"Yeah I know you have a computer brain, but wouldn't it be nice to physically see it?" Gavin protested. "Besides, you can just have this one. Nobody's gonna use it other than you since nobody else likes me."

"Officer Chen and Officer Miller seem to like you." Nines retorted.

"Well yeah, but Chris already has a desk and Tina never stops moving." Gavin began looking though the cases he had logged. "I've known them both for forever, so if they actually like me, it's not a surprise." Nines gave a barley noticeable smile. As he was about to get situated in the desk's chair he caught another android's eye from across the bullpen.

Connor had a smile on his face, one that resembled a mocking kind of smile. Nines gave him a stare before sending him a message.

**_"Aren't you supposed to be heading to a scene with the Lieutenant?"_ **

_"Aren't you supposed to be typing up a case report?"_

Nines rolled his eyes this time, sitting down in the chair and turning on the computer. He glanced at Gavin, the detective distracted by a case. Nines barley noticed the smile that appeared on his face while looking at the detective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> connor will appear more i swear  
> but anyway here's nines being stupid and connor being a little bitch (sibling love at it's finest)


	10. dunno what to call this other than "dumbass gavin is"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Nines finish up their case report, Tina gets an update on Nines, and the partners head out to another crime scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy shit im so sorry about posting this so fucking late and this being so short i was a dumbass and forgot  
> but i made up for it by adding more exposition about gavin's mysterious old partner who will be important later on i swear it's all going to be coming soon i promise

The case report was easy to finish writing. Nines finished it in the span of about five minutes. Gavin was listening to music while looking for a lead in a case. Nines could hear the music from Gavin's earbuds but that didn't distract the android. The music was distracting Gavin, however, because instead of reading like he was a few minutes ago he was tapping a pen on his desk while perfectly lip syncing the lyrics.

"Detective Reed, are you looking through that case file or are you performing a concert in your imagination?" Nines questioned, snapping Gavin out of his musical trance.

"Hm? Oh, yeah." Gavin turned off the music and tore out his earbuds.

"What's the details of that case, Detective?" Nines asked. Gavin gave him a glance before paraphrasing the file.

"An AX500, registered under the name Natalie, was found dead in a ditch with a bullet wound in her left breast." Gavin grimaced at the injury's visual. "The ditch was off to the side of the highway, meaning there's not a lot of things to go off of." Nines nodded.

"How long ago was this?" Nines questioned.

"'Bout two weeks ago is when it was reported. A few android nurses said she was killed about five days prior though."

"Who reported this?"

"Some android who's car broke down nearby on the way to work." Gavin replied. "God this is so boring, I need a break." The Detective stood up and looked at Nines. "I'll be in the break room. You can go ahead and take over I guess."

Gavin left his desk and Nines as he headed towards the break room. He needed some coffee. This day had been a lot already and he'd only had one cup that morning. As Gavin started up the coffee machine, Tina appeared on the counter like she materialized out of thin air.

"Day two with RK900! What's been happenin'?" The officer questioned her friend.

"I knew you'd ask." Gavin scoffed. "It's been good. He's bombards me with questions though. Probably just gathering data 'bout me."

"Really?" Tina smirked. "What if he just likes yooouu?" Tina poked at Gavin's side and he smacked her hand away.

"Why are you like this?" He laughed. "You did this with all the guys I liked in High School and if it wasn't my bitchy attitude that made them hate me, it was you trying to get us to hook up." Tina giggled.

"Dude! I know you, and you and the quarterback would have been perfect!" Tina slid off the counter as the coffee machine beeped at Gavin.

"You know he was uncomfortable with that T. Hell, I'm pretty sure he had a girlfriend." Gavin said, pouring a cup.

"Well he had to be bisexual at _least_." Tina mumbled. "But seriously, it's only been two days and RK900 smiles at you a lot."

"Nines." Gavin corrected.

"Hm?"

"He goes by Nines now. If you actually paid attention to shit you'd see his model number change on his jacket." Gavin took a sip of his coffee as Tina's expression morphed into confusion.

"You have terrible attention to detail, Gav. How'd you notice that?" She puzzled.

"He decided he liked it yesterday. It was just a stupid name I called him." Gavin replied.

"Oh yeah, you guys left together. What'd you do?" Tina asked wiggling her eyebrows. Gavin pushed her shoulder.

"Nothing! He just hit me with a shit ton of questions and met my cats!" Gavin laughed. Tina shrugged.

"Figured. You're too pussy to actually try anything." Gavin gave a gasp, like he was offended.

"You bitch." He smiled.

"Thanks Gav." Tina shot him a finger gun before walking away. Gavin gave a small laugh to himself before returning to his desk with a half-empty cup of coffee. The moment he sat down at his desk, Nines was already prepared with information.

"Detective, I believe that we should head to the scene of Natalie's crime as well as where her body is currently being stored. That way we can attempt to find a lead." Nines explained. "There's nothing I could find in this summary of the crime."

"Okay. when should we head out?" Gavin asked.

"Now would be preferable, but take as much time as you need." Nines replied. Gavin chugged the rest of his coffee, ignoring how it burnt his throat.

"We can head out now." Gavin stood, adjusting his jacket and grabbing his car keys. Nines nodded, standing from his chair as well. The two detectives left the bullpen and headed out to where Gavin's car was parked.

Tina definitely noticed the way Nines smiled as he followed his partner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i bet gavin listens to panic! at the disco even though it's 2039


	11. does gavin like his past or not, bc i dont know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Nines investigate Natalie's crime scene. Nines learns more about Gavin's life as well as Officer Miller's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shit sorry for being late once again, i started avatar yesterday so i got so distracted :/
> 
> anyway here’s gavin being distant and then talking about mr. chris miller because i like chris

The crime scene had little to no information on what happened. It was just a ditch with bits of glass scattered around. Nothing special.

"There's nothing here for us." Gavin huffed. "It's just a ditch. We should go check Natalie's body." Gavin started walking out of the ditch but Nines continued to look around.

"There has to be something here." He said, refusing defeat.

"Maybe the killer cleaned everything up." Gavin replied. "Makes our job a lot easier. C'mon let's go." Gavin began walking to his car.

"Do you not care about giving Natalie justice?" Nines questioned, turning to face the other detective. "I thought police fought for justice. How would you feel if someone you cared for was killed and never got justice?" Gavin looked at Nines before his expression morphed into a glare.

"You obviously know nothing about my life." Gavin scoffed.

"What do you mean?" Nines asked, crossing his arms. Gavin turned around and shrugged.

"Guess you know nothing about history either." Gavin looked off into the highway. "I know what it feels like for someone I care about to not get justice. Fuck, after 2020, I wanted to join the police force to give people justice." Nines made a note to himself to look up what happened during 2020, around the time Gavin was 18.

"Then why are you giving up already?" Nines frowned.

"Listen, you know jack shit about me plastic. Humans are complex ass creatures so you wouldn't understand." Gavin continued to his car. Nines gave one last glance around the area before sighing and climbing out of her ditch. As he was walking to Gavin's car, he spotted something. There were tire marks on the asphalt, leading into the ditch.

"Detective, move your car!" Nines called through the car's passenger window.

"What?" Gavin questioned.

"Just move your car forward a bit!" Nines ushered. "I think I found something!"

"Uh, okay?" Gavin pressed on the gas slightly, and the car moved. The tire marks were revealed fully. Nines bent down at got a better look as Gavin exited his car. "Woah. What the fuck?"

"These marks only look to be about three weeks old." Nines identified.

"Got what else can you see the age of?" Gavin grimaced. Nines looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"I can tell that the last time you washed that jacket was two weeks ago. You should probably put it in the wash detective." Nines smirked. Gavin looked away, grumbling something about 'stupid androids and their stupid scanners'. Nines looked back to the tire marks. "If Natalie was shot five days prior to being found, and she was found two weeks ago, then that makes about three weeks."

"A car must of gone off road. Do we know if it's connected to Natalie?" Gavin asked, looking back to the tire marks.

"The only way to know is to ask the officers that were cleaning up the place." Nines said, standing up.

"Or we could do it the modern way and look in the evidence locker?" Gavin suggested.

"If you were an unknowing police officer, would you think small pieces of glass from a crashed car belong in the evidence locker?" Nines questioned back. Gavin's eyes narrowed.

"Touché..." He mumbled.

"Do you remember what officers were assigned to this case?" Nines said as the two of them walked back to Gavin's car.

"I think it was Chris, Selina, and Ollie." Gavin listed. "Selina and Ollie stayed longer that Chris, obviously. They're androids. They probably saw more." Nines nodded.

"Androids have photographic memory." Nines said, putting on his seatbelt. "Literally."

"Also Chris has the memory of a fruit fly." Gavin added, putting on his seatbelt. Nines smirked at the insult to Gavin's friend.

"I don't think I've asked you this yet-" Nines started.

"Oh god not more questions." Gavin commented, sarcastically.

"-but how long have you known Officer Miller?" Nines finished. "You seem to be a very good friend of his."

"Yeah, pretty sure me and Tina met him after High School." Gavin replied. "Everything after High School and before my 24th birthday is all kind of a blur for me."

"Really?" Nines questioned as Gavin's car paused at a stoplight.

"Yeah. I was moving to Detroit during that time. It was all a lot of moving around. A lot of talking with strangers. A lot of...pressure." Gavin kept his eyes trained on the road.

"Hm. So you don't remember how you and Officer Miller met?" Nines tilted his head slightly.

"Yeah, the earliest I clearly remember was at my 21st birthday. We were all at a bar here in Detroit wasted out of our minds." Gavin smiled at the memory.

"'We' being?"

"Tina and Chris. Oh, and Chris's wife. At the time she was just his girlfriend though. She's awesome. Did you know she makes really good pie? We actually had some on my birthday. Damn, Diana is fucking amazing." Gavin rambled. "You've got to meet Diana at some point. She's the fucking best. Ooh, and Chris' son, Damian. He's turning one soon, and he's so adorable."

"You seem to like The Millers." Nines smiled. Gavin shrugged.

"Chris and his family are just amazing. He's also a bit younger than me, I mean, he only got out of the academy last year."

"Really? That puts a few plot holes in your meeting story then." Nines questioned.

"When I first moved to Detroit, Chris was still in high school. Me and Tina recently graduated from school, but Chris was getting through it kinda rough." Gavin paused, racking his brain for at least the gist of the story. "Me and Tina met him at a coffee shop, and I think it just kinda went from there. Tina helped him with homework, and I helped him skip boring classes."

"First of all, skipping classes isn't very lawful." Nines pointed out as they neared the DPD.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't have gotten in trouble." Gavin replied.

"Even so, it's still not lawful. Second of all, I thought you didn't remember anything after moving to Detroit?" Nines unbuckled his seatbelt as Gavin parked his car.

"Well, something's got my memory jogged. Still don't remember much and i'll probably forget everything I just told you tomorrow." Gavin retorted, unbuckling and getting out of the car. Nines left after him.

"Are we going to find Officer Selina and Officer Ollie?" Nines questioned, letting Gavin lead the way.

"Yeah. You can probably do the weird hand thingy with them." Gavin said back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhhhh i hate backstory complications 
> 
> also i wrote most of this on mobile so nines’ name kept autocorrecting to “Bones” or “Mines”
> 
> also also i’m posting this on mobile so sorry if it’s all fucky


	12. Keres, Drinks, and The Cats are Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Nines get stuck on a case. Nines says something that gets Gavin pissed and he leaves. Tina and Connor invite Nines to a drinking night. The android declines in favor of learning about Gavin's old partner and ex-boyfriend. Three days later, Tina, Chris, and Nines go to check on Gavin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah shit i'm sorry for fucking dying lmao  
> i was going to post this earlier today, but it's my birthday so my dumbass got distracted  
> anyway have this :)

The interview with Officer Selina and Officer Ollie was questionable. Nines had gotten permission to go through their memory files, and it was exactly what he expected. There was broken glass, tire marks, and all the evidence needed to show that a car had fallen into the ditch. After interviewing the two android cops, Nines and Gavin collected what evidence they had so far, as well as what they could possibly go off of.

"The glass that Officer Selina saw was thick enough to be class from a car window." Nines noted. "And there are tire tracks in the dirt of the ditch. _We_ didn't see them because that was two weeks ago. The tracks had merged with the dirt around it. We can use this information to infer that a car had fallen into the ditch the same day Natalie was killed."

"Okay, but was Natalie in the car?" Gavin inferred.

"Well, after looking through these memories I can reconstruct that the place where Natalie's body placed is in the same area as the passenger side of a car." Nines replied. "I believe, that the murderer drove the car into the ditch, pushed Natalie out of the car, and shot her."

"Makes sense, Makes sense," Gavin murmured. "But how'd the murderer get the car _out_ of the ditch?" Gavin leaned back in his chair, staring at the evidence file placed between his and Nines' desks.

"That's what I'm stuck on." Nines said. "It's practically impossible to get any car out of that sized ditch without a few other people." Nines ran a hand through his synthetic hair as he stared down at the files.

"Maybe there were other people in the car?" Gavin suggested. "They could have helped push the car out of the ditch."

"I guess that be plausible, but with the max amount of people that could fit in a car being 5 to 7, it'd still take multiple hours." Nines said, resting his chin on his folded hands.

"Going out on a limb here, it was a bus." Gavin shrugged.

"Impossible. The tire tracks don't match. The car seems to be something like a pick-up-truck." Nines pointed out.

"Damn." Gavin huffed. "Do you think there were any cameras around?" Nines shook his head.

"None that were close enough to spot the correct area." Nines gave a sigh. "This is so unnecessarily difficult."

"Unnecessarily?" Gavin questioned. "What's that supposed to mean? This thing's got me fuckin' stumped."

"Well, if you had started this case earlier, maybe you would have some useful information Detective." Nines pointed out, raising an eyebrow. 

"What?!" Gavin fumed, his expression quickly morphing into one of anger. 

"You've had this case for two weeks, Detective. If you had just started-"

"No, no, shut the fuck up you plastic asshole." Gavin growled. Nines stayed quiet. "I've been working here for way longer than your Cyberlife ass has, you can't tell me I should have started something earlier. Shit happens." Gavin jabbed a finger at Nines. "If you think I should have started this god forsaken case earlier, good for you. Figure out a way to time travel and help past me out, I don't give a flying fuck."

"Detective, Time Travel is still considered difficult," Nines commented.

"Shut Up, I'm still talking." Gavin slammed his hand down on the desk. "If you're gonna start blaming me for this case being a bitch to solve, then I'll step away. You're on your own asshole." Gavin snatched his phone and car keys off his desk and stormed off to the gate. Nines watched as the Detective left the precinct. He sighed as Officer Chen and Connor strolled up to Nines' desk.

"Woah, what just happened?" Tina questioned.

"Detective Reed got rather irritated due to something I said. I believe he just needs time to cool off." Nines explained.

"The last time I saw Detective Reed snap like _that_ was when he overheard someone talking about his old partner." Connor marveled. "It wasn't pretty."

"Yeah, your lucky he didn't slap your LED clean off your head." Tina chuckled.

"Speaking of Detective Reed's old partner, who was he? I've barley heard anyone talk about him." Nines asked. Tina's lips turned into a thin line at the question.

"You don't hear about him because nobody dares to talk about him while Detective Reed's around." Connor admitted, arms behind his back.

"The two of them were super close. Like, boyfriend kinda close. Nobody actually knew if they were dating though." Tina explained. 

"I believe it was an on and off relationship." Connor added.

"Kinda glad that asshole quit. Y'know, for Gavin's sake. He wasn't the greatest guy." Tina crossed her arms as she looked across the bullpen.

"Indeed. I don't see how anyone could tolerate him. Even Detective Reed." Nines leaned back in his chair slightly. 

"What was his name?" He questioned. Tina and Connor shared a glance before looking towards the bullpen's gate.

"We shouldn't really tell you since Gavin's made everyone swear not to talk about him," Tina said. "But, since you're new, curious, and Gavin isn't hear, I think we can make an exception."

"His name was Detective Nathan Keres." Connor whispered, leaning forward slightly.

"Nate was a huge dick." Tina shivered. "Toxic relationship energy, for sure." Connor gave a small nod. "Nobody liked him."

"For once in my whole time here, I believe the officers felt _bad_ for Detective Reed." Connor commented.

"Hm." Nines hummed.

"Anyway, I'm gonna change the subject." Tina smiled. "Me, Chris, and the Anderson's are gonna go out for a drinking night tonight. We wanted to know if you and Gavin wanted to come, but I'll just text Gavin later." Tina put her hands in her jeans pockets, her thumbs sticking out.

"I'd like to, but I'm going to try and get some sort of lead in this case before I take a drinking break." Nines declined.

"Are you suuuureeee?" Tina dragged. "The bar we're going to is super cool!"

"It is!" Connor agreed. "It was one of the first bars to start selling android-friendly drinks!" 

"I'd really love to, honestly, but I'd prefer to actually start on this case. Thank you for the offer though." Nines smiled slightly.

"Damn. That's a shame." Tina kicked the ground with a smile. "Well, cya later Nines." Tina and Connor began walking away, Tina pulling out her phone, presumably to message Gavin about their drinking night.

"Have fun." Nines added as they walked away. For the rest of the day, The android did exactly as he said he would. He went over the case's evidence repeatedly, finding nothing each time. He even debated on going out to the crime scene again just to see if he could find anything new. A few hours into repeatedly reading the case file, he over heard Officer Chen talking to Officer Miller about their drinking night. Apparently, Detective Reed had originally agreed to coming, but had cancelled for an unknown reason.

Nines couldn't help but wonder if _he_ was the reason Gavin didn't want to hang out with his friends. Maybe the Detective thought that if both Anderson's were gonna be there, then so would Nines, and Gavin didn't feel like talking to Nines just yet. The android hoped that it wasn't him stopping his partner from having fun. However, that feeling increased within the next few days.

The day after the Officer's Drinking Night, Gavin didn't show up. Officer Chen and Officer Miller brushed it off as him being to lazy to leave his house. Nines accepted that answer, but the day after was less convincing. By the third day of Detective Reed not showing up, Officer Chen, Officer Miller, and Nines were all rather concerned. The officers were worried something bad had happened to Gavin, while Nines worried his mere existence was causing Gavin to purposely miss work. What made the three of them even more worried, is that Gavin hadn't missed three days in a row in the whole time he had worked for the DPD. Two days sure, but the detective had never had a three day streak. The fourth day is what got Tina and Chris up off their asses to go check on Gavin. However, Nines didn't expect them to come up to him before leaving.

"Hey Nines, me and Chris are gonna head over to Gavin's place to see what's going on with him," Tina explained. "We wanted to know if you wanted to come?"

"You're his partner, so we figured you'd at least be a little worried." Chris commented. Nines stared at the two officers in front of his desk as he contemplated heading to his partner's apartment. Sure, Gavin was most likely fine and didn't want to be bothered, but Nines was still concerned.

"I'll join you. Although, I'm sure the Detective is alright." Nines tacked on the last part when he noticed Chris and Tina's stress levels both around 72%.

"Cool." Tina smiled, twirling her car keys on her finger. "Let's roll." Tina and Chris led Nines out of the precinct and out to Tina's car. As they began driving to Gavin's apartment, Nines in the back seat, the android's mind began analyzing what could cause Detective Reed's absence.

Nothing life threatening was too likely. The most plausible option was Detective Reed being to sick or tired to leave his home. Nines glanced towards the front of the car. Tina's stress levels had lowered to 58% while Chris' had gone up to 79.5%. Tina must have accepted that Gavin was probably fine, but Chris seemed to be worried for his friend. It made sense, seeing as Gavin and Tina had been in the officer's life since High School.

As Tina's car pulled up to Gavin's apartment complex, Nines attempted to scan Gavin's apartment. Nothing concerning that he could scan from the ground. The trio made their way up the stairs. Nines honestly thought he'd never return to apartment 208 ever again, but it seemed as though he was wrong. Once they arrived at the door, Tina gave a knock.

"Gav! It's Tina, Chris, and Nines!" Tina called. After she got no response, she called again. "Open the door asshat!" Again, no reply.

"Maybe you shouldn't have mentioned Nines." Chris gave a weak chuckle. Nines gave a shrug as if to say 'That's fair'.

"If this bitch doesn't open the door, I'm coming in myself." Tina muttered, knocking again. "Let us in Gavin Noah Reed!!"

"Pfft," Chris laughed. "Sorry, forgot Gavin's middle name was Noah, Jesus Christ..." Nines heightened his hearing sensors to hear the inside of the apartment. 

"I heard human-like movement from approximately where Detective Reed's bedroom is." Nines commented, lowering his hearing to normal levels. "There was also feline-like movement around the kitchen." Tina and Chris glanced at each other.

"I'm not even gonna ask how you know where Gavin's bedroom and kitchen are." Tina sighed. She knocked again before opening the door. "We're coming in since you're being a lazy bitch." Tina, Chris, and Nines entered the apartment. It looked almost exactly the same when Nines last visited. However, all the lights were off, the only other light coming from the windows. As Nines closed the door, Turnip the cat dashed up to the three giants in her territory.

"Hey 'Nips." Tina cooed, picking up the cat and stroking her fur. Tina led Chris and Nines down the hallway to Gavin's room, Bobo the cat coming out of the living room and following them.

As they passed the Living room, Nines noticed that Freyja wasn't on her windowsill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay 1) more exposition on whomst gavin's old partner was, and 2) i'm sure y'all can assume where this is going from the last line and i'm sorry about it
> 
> edit : ok i just realized this has 41 kudos, and thank you guys so much !! ok bye :)
> 
> edit edit : i changed the bit of gavin & tina dialogue in chapter 10 bc i was a dumbass and didn’t realize what gavin’s old partner was going to be like until now


	13. thank you google

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina, Chris, and Nines find out that Gavin has been absent for emotional reasons. Chris attempts to make Gavin feel better, while Tina and Nines talk about the weird feeling Nines gets when Gavin smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehe heres this :)
> 
> also minor tw - implication of animal death :(
> 
> (believe me i didn’t want this to happen either)

As Tina, Chris, and Nines approached Gavin's bedroom door, Nines noticed not only Tina and Chirs' but also his stress levels rise. There was really nothing to worry about, so why was he getting nervous? Tina slowly creaked open the door.

"Gavin?" She said as she put Turnip down. Gavin's room wasn't a complete mess like Nines would have thought. In the middle of the bed, there was a Gavin sized lump under the covers.

"Hey Gavin?" Chris said softly as the trio quietly filed into the bedroom, Turnip and Bobo hopping onto the bed. "You okay? It's been like three days since we saw you."

"Please don't tell me this is about Nate..." Tina whispered. "I thought you were over this..."

"I am." Gavin replied, his voice quiet and raspy.

"Then why are you being like this?" Tina crossed her arms as she strode over to the foot of the bed. Gavin slowly sat up in his bed, clutching the blankets like a lifeline. The man was wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants, his hair a mess and tears stains down his cheeks.

"Freyja-" Was all he managed to say before his voice cracked and he dove into tears. Tina and Chris quickly moved to either side of Gavin, but Nines stayed put, not knowing what to do.

"Hey, hey, Gavin it's okay." Chris consoled, rubbing circles into his friend's back. Nines was going to ask what happened to the Burmese, but inferred Tina would just bark 'Read the room, asshole!', so he decided against it.

"I'm so sorry Gav," Tina whispered, wrapping her arms around her best friend's shoulders. "She meant a lot to you..."

The room was pretty much quiet as Gavin mourned the feline, the only sound being the detective's sobs. Nines stood at the door, awkwardly, not knowing if there was anything he could do. Chris looked over to Nines, and beckoned him over with his hand. Apparently there was something he could do. The android carefully walked over to the side of the bed where Chris sat.

"I'm gonna go make Gavin some food. I'm guessing he hasn't eating in a while." Chris whispered to Nines. The Officer gave a squeeze to Gavin's shoulder before standing and quietly exiting the room, Bobo following him. Nines slowly sat down where Chris had previously been, and started rubbing Gavin's lower back. As Gavin's sobs slowly died down, he leaned more and more into Nines, until all that was left was Gavin sniffling while clinging to Nines' jacket. Tina sat up and looked sadly at her friend.

"I'm so sorry Gav, This really sucks." She said, giving his leg a light squeeze. "That cats been with you for, like, ever." Gavin gave a very small nod of agreement, his cheeks wet with tears.

"I bet Officer Chen was originally going to come yell at you for being, quote 'a lazy bitch', but now that she sees the situation, she's going to yell at you for not telling her." Nines prompted. Tina almost immediately gave him a look that said something like ' _you did not just say that you dingbat_ ', but it vanished when Gavin let out a weak laugh.

"Yeah, wouldn't be surprised." Gavin carefully sat up but still leaned against Nines' shoulder. "Last time I didn't tell her what was going on with my life, she yelled at me so much my neighbors had to come over and make sure I wasn't going to get thrown off the balcony." Tina rolled her eyes as Gavin gave a small smile.

"Okay, but seriously," Tina started, softly. "Why didn't you tell me? You yell at Nines, then disappear for three days? I'm gonna get worried." Gavin glanced at Nines before speaking.

"I know you'll get worried. You've got that weird motherly thing since you're the oldest Chen child." Gavin smirked before looking at the android he was leaning on. "Oh, and sorry for yelling at you. The last partner I had...wasn't the nicest and what you said kinda...triggered something? I guess?" Nines nodded completely understanding.

"It's alright Detective." Nines replied. Gavin gave a snort of a laugh. Nines felt something, it was weird but it wasn't ignorable.

"Calling me Detective ruins the whole, y'know..., vulnerable mood." Gavin explained. Nines's LED went yellow as he awkwardly looked down at the sheets, which caused a laugh out of both Gavin and Tina.

"Hey, I see you're doing better." Chris noted, appearing at the bedroom door.

"Could be better, not gonna lie." Gavin admitted.

"Well, I made you some soup. Come out here and eat it before it gets cold." Chris smiled and left, presumably back to the kitchen.

"When was the last time you ate?" Tina questioned, shuffling off the bed. Nines did the same.

"I had a few saltine crackers last night." Gavin said, standing up with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

"Detective, that's seriously not good for you. You need a real meal." Nines worried. Gavin bumped his shoulder against the android's arm.

"Chill out, plastic. I'm going to eat now, aren't I?" Gavin hummed. Nines gave a slow nod and Gavin laughed. Then, the weird feeling in Nines returned. It felt like someone was rearranging his wires, but it wasn't painful or bad. The trio walked out of the bedroom, and Gavin let them to the kitchen. As soon as they arrived, Gavin sat at one of the barstool's and Chris placed a bowl of soup down. As Gavin ate, Nines couldn't help but wonder what that strange feeling was when Detective Reed laughed. He couldn't run away to the Jericho Building and seek medical attention, but he also was very curious to know what was wrong with him.

Nines glanced at Officer Chen, who was already making small talk with Chris and Gavin. She was probably catching Gavin up on all the drama that occurred in Gavin's absence. Nines walked over to Tina and gave her a gentle tap on the shoulder.

"What's up Nines?" Tina smiled, turning to the android.

"Officer Chen, would you mind if I spoke to you in private. I have something I want to ask you." Nines didn't expect Tina to know about his weird feelings. After all, she wasn't an android or an android technician.

"Um, sure?" Tina shrugged. Nines led her out of the kitchen and into the living room. When the two of them sat on the couch, Turnip jumped up behind them.

"Soo, what's going on?" Tina asked, turning her body so she could pet Turnip.

"I don't expect you to know the answer to my question, so it's alright if you don't." Nines started.

"Woah is this some kind of important question? Because I don't know if I could handle that." Tina joked. Nines shook his head.

"No. I have a question about...feelings." Nines continued. "I've been a deviant the whole time I've been activated. I haven't known anything else, but I haven't grasped feelings yet."

"Okay?" Tina urged on, continuing to pet Turnip.

"So, do you happen to know why I get a weird feeling in my chest when Detective Reed laughs?" Nines said, a bit more quietly incase Gavin and Chris could hear. Tina stared at the android for a minute.

"A weird feeling in your chest when Gavin laughs?" Tina repeated. "Like, just when he laughs or?"

"Well, it just started appearing today, but now that I think about it....all the times I've seen Detective Reed smile, it's there but very small." Nines answered. Tina paused for a moment, trying to piece together what he's feeling. Her expression eventually morphed into surprise, then into a smile.

"I know what's going onnn." She grinned.

"What? Please, tell me." Nines urged.

"You like Gavin." Tina replied. Nines creased his eyebrows in confusion and his LED went yellow.

"But I do like Detective Reed? He's got some ups and downs, but he's a good person." Nines puzzled.

"No, I mean you like-like Gavin." Tina might as well have been vibrating in her seat. Nines looked up the definition of "like-like"-ing someone. As he quickly read the first thing that came up, his eyes widened.

"... _the second type of like—the LIKE-like—unambiguously implies that you have a crush_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> got that definition by looking up “like like someone” and copy-pasting the last sentence of the first thing that showed up
> 
> okay thank you bye :)


	14. Nines’ Mysterious Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines has a talk with his brother about his feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter has a few perspective shifts  
> they’re separated with “ ———— “ :)

"I do _not_!" Nines gasped and Tina burst out laughing. Nines glanced towards the entrance of the room to make sure Gavin or Chris weren't watching.

"Well," Tina took a moment to gather herself before continuing. "how would you explain the weird feeling in your chest?" Nines paused, LED streaming yellow. Did he have an explanation? He assumed a technician or a human would know!

"I... I don't know..." Nines answered. Tina placed a hand on Nines' shoulder.

"Look, I know we've barley talked and I know close to nothing about you and androids in general, but I have a feeling this 'weird feeling' is completely emotional." Tina said, softly. "If you still wanna be a little bitch and deny my answer, maybe talk to someone who'd actually know this shit. Like Connor or literally any other android who went deviant before the revolution."

Nines stared at the coffee table. Did he "like like" his partner? Is that something he could experience? He didn't know the answers to either of those questions. He might like his partner and it might be something he could experience. Nines gave a sigh.

"I need some air." He didn't really. Androids didn't need to breath, but Nines had heard others use it when they needed space. Nevertheless, Nines stood and walked to the door leading off onto the balcony. As he stepped onto the platform, he saw Tina walk out of the living room.

Nines turned away from the glass door and stared out at the scenery. He had to admit, Gavin's apartment had a good view. He could see the parking lot (as well as spot both Tina and Gavin's cars) but he could also see the plenty of trees and greenery around the complex. It was peaceful. It was a last minute decision, but Nines stripped his cyberlife jacket off. He'd put it back on eventually, but his internal processors could use a break from keeping him cool from the inside.

It was nice to not wear his jacket for once. Well, it's not like he had a dress code he could take it off at anytime, but it was more of what humans would call "a comfort item". He tied the white and grey fabric around his waist, leaving his torso covered by a black sleeveless turtle neck sweater.

Nines contemplated another, somewhat risky, decision. Should he call and ask another android what his weird feelings were? It would be easier that way, right? A few moments after the thought had come to his head, he decided.

Using your brain as a phone was a little weird to some humans. Nines knew that. He called anyway. Two rings before the receiver picked up.

" _Nines_?"

"Hello Connor. I have a few questions that I want to talk about with you."

————

Tina walked into the kitchen just as Gavin finished up his meal.

"Sup losers." She announced, sitting on the bar stool next to Gavin as Chris snatched the empty bowl.

"Hey." Gavin replied. He glanced around for a moment before questioning, "Where's Nines?"

"He's getting some air." Tina replied, coolly.

"I thought androids didn't need air." Chris said.

"They don't, it's a figure of speech dumbass." Tina laughed. Gavin a small snicker behind his hand. "So, what have you guys been talking about without me?"

"Nothing special." Gavin replied. "Just, like, if I'd like a new cat and if so what kind." Tina gave a glare at Chris.

"What?" He held his hands up in defense. "I'm just trying to know!"

"You don't have to get a new cat right away, I hope you know that." Tina said, turning to look at Gavin.

"I know," He sighed. "But it might be nice to have another bitch who'll actually hang out with the others." Gavin’s small smile morphed into a frown as a few stray tears made their way out of his eyes.

“Gav...” Tina whispered, placing a gentle hand on Gavin’s back. As the detective wiped at his tears, Chris came around to the other side of the counter and put an arm on his shoulder.

“Sorry Gavin.” Chris apologize.

“No, no, it’s okay.” Gavin sniffled, wiping his slightly damp hand on his pants.

“It’s really not-”

“Don’t even start Chris. I’m fine.” Gavin huffed, shrugging Chris’ arm off.

“Alright...” Chris replied, unsure.

————

“ _You’re telling me, you talked to Officer Chen before talking to an android who’d actually know what’s going on with you?_ ” Connor asked, annoyed over the line. Nines scratched at his arms.

“Yeah.” He sighed. “But, is she right?” There was silence for a moment.

“ _I mean, probably, but-_ ” Nines let out a groan of annoyance at Connor’s reply. “ _What’s wrong? Are you not satisfied with my answer?_ ”

“I was kinda hoping you’d dismiss Officer Chen’s answer as a joke and say that it was just a software error...” Nines admitted.

“ _I would love to say that just to make my little brother happy, but it’s not true. It’s not a software error._ ” Nines could tell Connor was smiling.

“‘Little brother’? Seriously? I’m taller, stronger, and over all superior to you. Plus, we’re not even the same model number!” Nines distracted.

“ _Okay, first of all,_ ” Connor started. “ _Yes, you are a superior model to mine, but you’re still newer and an RK model, therefore I /can/ call you my little brother._ ” Nines gave an eye roll that he was glad Connor couldn’t see.

“The Lieutenant is really rubbing off on you...” He muttered.

“ _Second of all,_ ” Connor continued. “ _You’re ignoring the whole reason you called me. You asked me questions, I gave honest answers. I do believe that you’re ‘weird feeling’ is entirely emotional._ ” Nines gave a disappointed sigh.

“Well, now I know there really is something wrong with me.” He concluded. Connor’s side was silent for a moment.

“ _What?_ ” The RK800 questioned. “ _There is /nothing/ wrong with you!_ ”

“I’m not supposed to ‘like-like’ Detective Reed!” Nines said, a little louder than he intended. “He’s my work partner! You know how he felt in a relationship with his previous partner.”

“ _Nines, this has nothing to do with Detective Reed’s old partner. Nate was a manipulative, toxic, asshole who led Gavin on for at least three months._ ” Connor explained. “ _Just because Nate was Gavin’s partner and a manipulative liar doesn’t mean Gavin’s chances with you are below 45%._ ” Nines stayed silent for a minute, letting Connor’s words sink in.

“Have a good afternoon, Connor.” Nines said before hanging up. He his hands across his face. No way was he letting these stupid emotions take over. No way. Nines brushed non-existent dirt off his sweater and walked back into the house.

————

As Gavin, Tina, and Chris settled back into a steady conversation, this time about Gavin’s annoying upstairs neighbors, Nines entered the kitchen, opting to sit down at the barstool next to Tina.

“Woah, bare arm alert!” Chris exclaimed. Tina and Gavin gave small breath-laughs at the officer’s stupid joke.

“You look nice without your jacket Nines.” Tina admitted. “Don’t you think so Gavin?” Nines’ LED went yellow when he realized what Tina was trying to do.

“Uh- Yeah, totally!” Gavin replied, caught off guard by the sudden inclusion.

“Well, thank you both.” Nines smiled. He gave Tina a look that basically read ‘don’t even try anything else’. She replied with a smile that said ‘no promises’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> connor : “you are my little brother”  
> nines : “i’m taller, stronger, and better than you in every way possible. we’re not even the same model number”  
> connor : “listen here u little shit-“


	15. Connor Talks Too Much

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin gets lectured by the Captain and Nines gets lectured by Connor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the perspective shifts in this one are marked by "-------" :)  
> don't really like this one but here it is :0
> 
> tw - mention of freyja's death :(

Chris, Tina, and Nines all had stuff to do, so sadly they couldn't stay at Gavin's apartment for the rest of their work day. Gavin decided to come with them, so he went to the bathroom to clean up his shit appearance. A speedy shower and a change of clothes later, Gavin had joined Tina, Chris, and Nines in Tina's car. Nines could see the glances Tina gave him through the rear-view mirror, like she was telling him to say something to the Detective sitting next to him. Nines ignored every single look. By the time the four of them arrived at the precinct and stepped through the bullpen, there was a small burst of yells.

"Reed! My office, now!" From Captain Fowler.

"Nines! Meeting Room please!" From Connor.

And "Tina! Chris! We were assigned to a scene! Let's hurry up and go!" From Officer Wilson.

\-------

Gavin's face paled as Captain Fowler's yell overpowered everyone else. Gavin stayed put a foot away from Nines as Officer Wilson ushered Tina and Chris back out of the precinct. Gavin was left alone when Connor walked over and pulled Nines away to the Meeting Room. Gavin took a breath before stuffing his hands in his pockets and quickly walking towards the Captain's office. Of course he'd have to explain his surprised unexcused absence, what did he think would happen? Fowler was very serious about showing up on time. The moment Gavin shut the office door, Captain Fowler began speaking.

"Where in gods name were you?" He asked, not glancing at his computer. "You made a scene in front of the whole precinct, then disappeared. You left your partner to try and figure out the case on his own as well." 

"Listen, that 'scene' and me not showing up to work are two totally unconnected things." Gavin defended. "The most that they are connected was that 'scene' making me go home. Besides, even if I didn't yell at Nines, I would have still stayed home!"

"Why?" Fowler questioned, his eyes piercing through Gavin like a knife. "I assumed you stayed home to avoid your partner." Gavin shook his head.

"No, it wasn't that." Gavin stared down at his shoes. He hadn't avoided work since....

"Then why were you absent?" Fowler questioned again. Gavin huffed.

"Fowler, my cat died do you really think I would be okay?" He hissed, trying to keep his voice down. Captain Fowler's face didn't soften, but it was enough for his expression to shift. "Before you even try to say an animal death isn't a big deal, that cat was with me pretty much ever since I moved here. She meant a whole fuckin' lot to me." Gavin was fighting tears at the mention of poor Freyja. Fowler seemed to notice.

"If you were anyone else besides the Anderson's, I would mark you for having three unexcused absences." He started. "But...I understand. I won't do anything to your record, but you better let me or someone else know something happened next time. Not even Officer Chen knew where you were." Gavin gave a nod.

"Got it." He said. 

"Now get out of my office." Fowler waved Gavin off, turning to his computer. Gavin turned on his heel and walked out of the room. He glanced around and found the precinct fairly peaceful. Was this what it was like when he wasn't around?

As Gavin walked to his desk, he saw that Nines hadn't returned from the meeting room. A quick look at said room and it looked like Connor was lecturing Nines about something. Gavin's gaze found Nines and the android made an annoyed look, that to Gavin read "this bitch talks way too much". Gavin gave a snicker when Connor noticed and began lecturing more. Nines looked more bored than before. Gavin finished his journey to his desk and sat down, waiting for Nines who had all the newest in tell on their case. Well, if there was any...

\-------

Nines froze at the sudden increase of volume. Connor's call for him stood out the most. Probably because it felt like he was in trouble with him. Nines stayed put, a foot away from Gavin as Officer Wilson dragged Tina and Chris away. Nines would have walked to the Meeting Room himself if he wasn't figuratively rooted to the ground. Connor walked over, and grabbed his arm pulling him into the meeting room. As Connor closed the door, Nines crossed his arms, just now remembering that his jacket was tied around his waist.

"Nines," Connor started, turning to the other android. "I answered questions, you deny my answers, then hang up on me?? I tried calling you back but every time you just ignored me! What's going on with you??"

"Nothing's 'going on' Connor." Nines retaliated. 

"Really?? You told me you thought something was wrong with you because you felt something for Detective Reed!" Connor worried. "I'd say that's something 'going on'!"

"Nothing's wrong Connor." Nines replied, blankly.

"Okay, you're seriously not understanding what I'm talking about." Connor said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Imagine if I called you. I asked you a bunch of questions about my program that you'd know because we have very similar programming and code. I told you about how I talked about the same exact thing with...I dunno.. Officer Miller! And he told me that I 'like-liked' someone, which, by the way, is bad terminology. It would be more like 'I love someone' or 'had a crush on them' or literally anything besides 'like-like' because that's repetitive and stupid." Nines rolled his eyes, getting bored by the second. 

He glanced out the window of the meeting room and spotted Gavin watching them. Nines gave an annoyed look that hopefully came across as 'Connor is so annoying' or something. Despite Connor's endless rambling, he noticed the look Nines shared with the Detective and frowned.

"Nines! You're not even taking this seriously! If you actually wanted my help you'd be listening!" Connor scolded. Nines purposely made his expression more bored than before. "You called me first, and I want to help out, but obviously you're not wanting my help since you're ignoring everything I'm saying! Which is very rude by the way! Imagine if you were telling me something important and I ignored every piece of information you were giving me? How would you feel??" Nines gave a small sigh.  
"I'd be annoyed, but then I'd lift you by the jacket collar and force you to listen." Nines replied. Connor's eyes widened a little. "You're short enough for me to do that, I hope you're aware." Connor's shoulders sagged a little.

"Look Nines, I'm seriously just trying to help. If you're feeling insecure about your feelings towards Detective Reed, maybe go talk to someone at Jericho?" Connor suggested. "I know Simon's pretty good with all that relationship stuff, so he could probably help." Nines glanced off to the side.

"Maybe. I think about it." The RK900 decided. He took a step to leave, but Connor blocked him.

"What do you saayy?" He teased. Nines gave an annoyed look, but Connor stood in front of him persistent.

"Fine.. Thank you for your help Connor." Nines gave in. Connor's expression turned into a sweet smile.

"You're welcome! Anything for my Little Brother!" Connor leaned in and gave Nines a tight hug before quickly walking off to leave.

"I'm not little! You're a whole foot shorter than me!" Nines called, walking after Connor.

"You're a newer model! I can say whatever I want!" Connor smirked, closing the door in Nines' face. The android gave a laugh before opening the meeting room door and walking to the his desk. He sat down, Gavin on phone with his feet on his desk.

"So, did you get anything while I was gone?" Gavin asked, closing his phone after noticing Nines.

"Not at all." Nines said, deadpanned. 

"Really? You had three days, but you didn't bother to question anyone who knew Natalie?" Gavin half-gasped.

"I arranged a meeting with Natalie's parents tomorrow. I was waiting for you." Nines replied. The android noticed Gavin's ears change color slightly.

"Oh.. Okay cool.." Gavin muttered, taking his feet off the desk. "Tomorrow is..cool."

"Mhm." Nines hummed, turning to his computer. The two stayed silent for a minute.

"So were you and Connor arguing about your height?" Gavin questioned, out of the blue. If Nines had been drinking anything, It would have been everywhere.

"What? No!" Nines exclaimed. "What made you think that??"

"All I really heard was you saying that you were a whole foot taller than Connor." Gavin grinned with a laugh. Nines pushed the weird feeling down.

"No, we were arguing about something totally unrelated, but he insisted on calling me his 'little brother' at the end, despite it being completely illogical." Nines explained.  
"Illogical? Well you're a newer model and you're both RKs. To me it makes sense." Gavin replied.

"Ugh! Not you too!" Nines groaned, burying his face in his hands as Gavin laughed.

Nines pushed down his weird feeling again. Maybe he should head to Jericho and get his programming checked out...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tina : there's only one thing worse than 'talking excessively'  
> tina : *removes paper to reveal 'connor talking excessively'* boom  
> nines : connor  
> chris : no-


	16. September, 2039

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines and Gavin interrogate Natalie's mother. They see someone who they don't want to see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was originally going to be A LOT darker, but i thought of a better version that didn't involve a huge trigger warning so here it is instead lmao
> 
> tw - mentions of natalie's (that one irrelevant android) death
> 
> i don't really like how fast this chapter went,, but hhhh

The rest of the day was surprisingly calm for Gavin and Nines. Tina and Chris had a bit of stress from keeping citizens away from a crime scene, but otherwise they were fine too. Nothing too crazy was reported either. When the next day arrived, Nines had gotten a rather upsetting message from Natalie's parents (or rather, the humans that had owned her and treated her like a daughter). It said :

_"Hello Detective. We're sorry to inform you, but we'll have to postpone our meeting to the beginning of September. How does the 5th sound?"_

Nines had wanted to get this case over and done with, but it looked like he'd have to wait.

 _"The 5th sounds great. My partner and I will see you then."_ is what Nines' reply ended up being. When he broke the news to Gavin, he was also pretty upset too. Variations of "I just want to get this bullshit case over with!" and "I bet those assholes are just too lazy to talk with us..." is what he mumbled for the rest of the day. Gavin was clearly very salty about this, as was Nines' Zen Garden Gavin.

When Nines went into his Zen Garden during his break, Handler Gavin was standing at the rose trellis. He looked the exact same from the last time he saw him, white sleeveless turtleneck and all. As Nines approached the trellis, he could feel the tense air around Gavin.

"Is everything alright?" Nines asked, sitting down on one of the benches. Gavin gave a huff before turning to Nines.

"I bet those assholes aren't actually busy. They're probably hiding _something_." He hissed.

"That's very illogical. He haven't even talked to them in person." Nines replied.

"So? That doesn't mean that we can't make stupid accusations about them." Gavin turned back to the trellis, continuing to tend to the white and blue roses growing. The air in the Zen Garden stayed tight and suffocating as both Gavin and Nines stayed silent. Nines ended up not going back to the Garden for the rest of the day.  
  


When the first week of September _finally_ rolled around, Nines and Gavin were constantly being reminded of Lieutenant Anderson's upcoming birthday. They had things to focus and prepare for, yet all the other officers could care about was the Lieutenant's anniversary of birth. It's not like Nines didn't care, because he did! Lieutenant Anderson was a great man, but Nines had the important meeting to be preparing for! He didn't need to be hearing "Don't forget about Hank's birthday party this Tuesday!" from Tina, "You're still coming to Anderson's party, right?" from Chris, or "Remember to not plan anything for the 6th!" from Connor. All he really needed to hear was "Don't forget about our meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Pikeman on Monday." from Gavin.

Another problem arose when the 5th came. Everyone was even more jittery than the previous days, and constantly reminding each other of the party tomorrow.

"Nines-" Connor came up to Nines' desk to tell him something, but the RK900 already knew what he was going to say.

"Don't forget the Lieutenant's birthday is tomorrow, _I know_!" Nines finished for him, raising a hand to stop Connor in his tracks. "Detective Reed and I have a important meeting with potential suspects today, so please leave us alone." Connor stared for a second before nodding and walking away. Nines gave a sigh and turned to his partner who was aggressively finishing an email. "Does everyone here have a horrible memory or something? It seems like everyone had consistently forgotten than Lieutenant Anderson's birthday is tomorrow..."

"It's just a weird thing the precinct does." Gavin replied, finishing up the email. "Some of us have shit memory when it comes to events since we already have a fuck-ton of cases to deal with, so we constantly remind each other. But, I seriously don't give one shit about Hank's birthday right now." Gavin sent the email he had finished. Nines didn't catch who it was to, but he did see that the topic Gavin wrote was _'important file shit or whatever'_. "We have to go do a meeting right now."

Nines glanced at his internal clock. It was indeed time to head out to The Pikeman's house. "Let's go." Nines stated. Gavin snatched his keys off his desk and the two partners quickly walked out of the precinct to avoid any unnecessary conversation with other officers. 

The Detectives stayed quiet the whole car ride, but when they arrived at the house, the two of them sat in the car.

"Are you nervous, or is it just me?" Gavin questioned, turning off the car.

"I...would say i'm feeling something equivalent to nervous, yes." Nine replied. "Something about this place feels wrong..."

"Yeah, kinda reminds me of a few boobytrapped crimes scenes I went to back when I was still a rookie detective." Gavin recalled. "Let's be careful." Nines gave a nod and the two finally left the car.

The Pikeman's house was a little bigger than the average sized suburban house, but it wasn't large enough to rise suspicion. The outside was clean and the lawn was perfectly trimmed. It looked like the house had been cleaned up by androids or some very persistent humans. Nines and Gavin walked up the front stairs and stood at the door. Gavin pressed the doorbell's button. Nines' advanced hearing could here the soft ring from outside. After a few seconds, the white door opened. In the doorway stood a pale woman with medium length brown hair and green eyes. Nines identified her as Thalia Pikeman, Natalie's adoptive mother.

"Hello Gentlemen! What can I do for you?" Thalia smiled, her teeth perfect and shiny.

"Hello Ma'am. I'm Detective Reed," Gavin flashed his badge for confirmation. "And this is my partner Detective RK900." Nines flashed his badge as well. "We're here to speak about your recently deceased daughter, Natalie?" At the mention of the android, Thalia's expression sunk.

"Ah. My dear Natalie..." Thalia wiped at her eyes as they started wetting, careful to not mess up her mascara. "Please, come in gentlemen. I'll tell you anything I can." Mrs. Pikeman side stepped down Nines and Gavin could enter, then led the two detectives down the hall and into the living room.

The living room was nicely decorated, lots of plants and miscellaneous decoration here and there. Nines noticed how down Mrs. Pikeman looked after the mention of her deceased daughter. Thalia motioned for Gavin and Nines to sit on one of the two couches, a sleek coffee table between them.

"You seem to have a lot of plants. Is there a reason?" Nines questioned, attempting to distract Thalia from the real reason he and Gavin were there.

"Ah, no not really." Thalia said, glancing around at all the flowers and green that decorated the sweetly smelling room. "Me and my husband just like plants. Natalie did too..."

"We're so sorry about Natalie." Gavin admitted. "I bet she was a wonderful daughter."

"She was." Thalia nodded, sitting on the couch across from the Detectives. "She was the one to started our garden outside. We had to hire someone to tend to it though. Me and my husband are rather busy, and we can't care for the plants as much as Natalie did. Speaking of my husband, he's outback with our gardener, so he's a bit busy."

"Well, would you mind if we started asking a few questions?" Nines gently asked.

"Not at all." Thalia shrugged.

"Do you remember what you and your husband were doing the day Natalie was killed?" Gavin questioned.

"That was quite a while ago, but I believe we were both here having dinner when she...died.." Thalia's frown deepened at the last word.

"Do you know what Natalie was doing before she was killed?" Gavin leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Well, she had gone out with a few friends, and since she didn't need dinner we let her go out. The next day, she hadn't come back but my husband assured me that she was probably just staying at a friends house and forgot to tell us." Thalia explained. "After two weeks passed, we were so worried. We had called the police a bit ago and they had sent officers out to try and find her, but a random maintenance guy ended up finding her first..."

"Ah, we're aware. She was found in a ditch, a bullet in her left breast." Nines commented. "We believe she was in a car but the car was purposely driven into a ditch, where she was pushed out of the car and shot." Thalia gasped.

"Oh dear god! That's horrible!" Thalia cried. Nines gave a sad nod.

"It's a shit way to go out..." Gavin added. The room fell into silence as Thalia took the new information in.

"Would you happen to know the names of the friends Natalie had gone out with?" Nines questioned after a minute.

"I believe there was Sam Fairwell, Isabelle Darren, anddd...I think his name was Ben Harrison?" Thalia counted off the names on her fingers.

"Were they human?" Gavin asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes." Thalia confirmed. "All three. Sweet kids." Nines made sure to note those three names to look up later.

"How did Natalie leave?" Gavin prompted. "Car? Walking?"

"She left in what I think was Sam's car?" Thalia answered.

"Do you know what kind of car?" Nines urged.

"I think it was a pick-up truck? I can't remember the color, sorry." Thalia replied. Nines gave a quick glance to Gavin who had leaned back onto the couch.

"Alright," Gavin started. "how old were her friends? Did they come here often? How long had Natalie known them?"

"I think they were all around 21? They were in her college classes last year," Thalia answered. "Sam came around a lot, but Isabella and Ben didn't come as often. I think Natalie knew them since the second semester last year? Maybe longer. She didn't start having them over until summer started." Nines and Gavin shared a look. Both of them seemed satisfied with their answers.

"Once last question ma'am," Gavin said. "Do you have the address for any of Natalie's friends homes?" Thalia paused for a moment.

"I believe I do." She stood from her seat. "I'll be right back." Thalia left the Living Room for a moment before returning with a small address book. She flipped through the pages as she sat back down, scanning the words. "Ah, here's Sam's."

"Could you read it off for us please? Nines can log it." Gavin asked, rather politely. Thalia nodded and read Sam's address off. Nines logged the address in his memory and gave a quick look at where it was. Only a few blocks away from the highway Natalie was found near. 

"I don't think I have Ben's or Isabella's in here. Sorry." Thalia said, closing the address book. Nines heard the back door open and close, two pairs of footsteps approaching, two men's voices accompanying. 

"That's alright Mrs. Pikeman." Gavin stood, and Nines quickly followed. "I think we're done here. Thank you for answering our questions." Thalia gave a smile and stood.

"I hope my daughter gets justice soon." Thalia shook both Gavin and Nines' hands. "Thank you Detectives." Nines heard the two men pass the living room entrance and head to the front door. They were talking about gardening and shrubbery.

"Our pleasure Mrs. Pikeman." Gavin nodded. "Have a nice day." Gavin walked out of the room. Nines gave Thalia a smile before following his partner. As they turned the corner to the front door, the two men Nines had heard earlier were standing there. Gavin froze in his tracks, staring at only one of the men.

Nines quickly scanned the two men. One was Dylan Pikeman, a pale man with brown hair and brown eyes as well as Thalia Pikeman's husband. The other was who Gavin was shocked to see. When Nines scanned the man, he was just as shocked.

Dirty Blonde hair, Blue eyes, and an average weight and height. He seemed like a simple gardener guy, wearing a gardening apron and gloves. The name is what caught Nines off gaurd.

_Nathan Keres_

Nines gave a glance down at Gavin, who's expression was unreadable. Nines would probably have the same expression if he had saw his toxic ex-boyfriend standing in front of his only escape. Nines cleared his throat, gaining the attention of Nate and Mr. Pikeman. Nate eyes landed on Gavin, to which is expression changed to mimic his. The Unreadable Shocked Face.

Nines and Mr. Pikeman awkwardly stood there, waiting for something to happen. Nines could guess what was probably going on, but Mr. Pikeman was probably very confused. After a minute of silently standing around, Nines decided to get this going.

"My apologies, but we need to head back to the Police Department. We have evidence to go over." Nines gently grabbed Gavin's shoulder and flashed his badge for confirmation. Mr. Pikeman nodded and moved to the side, allowing Gavin and Nines to leave. As Nines led Gavin out of the house, he caught Nate and Gavin now glaring angrily at each other. Gavin didn't stop glaring until they had exited the fenced lawn of the house, and even then his expression was still angry. 

Gavin shrugged Nines' hand off his shoulder and sped up, angrily power walking his way to his car. Nines sighed. This had been going perfectly, of _course_ something had to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehehehehe nate has arrived bitches  
> i'm pretty tempted to have next chapter include a flashback of when gavin & nate were still together, but i dunno yet :0
> 
> also the varying seriousness of my chapter titles is hilarious to me


	17. Buzzing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin ignores some text messages.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaahhhh shiiiittttt here we go boys we got a gavin chapter :) haven’t had one of these in a while 
> 
> uhh a tw for toxic relationship? it’s not that big, and it’s mainly just references but i’m gonna put it here anyway

Fuck this. Fuck that. Why did _that_ asshole have to be at that stupid fucking house, he didn't have any business there. Who gives a shit if he was the Pikeman's gardener! Gavin gripped his car's steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. Nines stood at the open passenger door, not making a move to get in.

"Detective, are you alright? You're stress levels are very high." Nines pointed out, his voice lacking a worry-some tone.

"Get in the car." Gavin growled in response.

"But Detective-"

" _Get in the god damn car!_ " Gavin yelled. Nines paused before slowly getting in. As soon as the door shut, Gavin started driving.

"Detective! I don't have a seatbelt on!" Nines yelped, fumbling with the strap to his right.

"You're an android." Gavin reminded, gruffly. "You'd be fine." The car ride back to the precinct was a tense silence, Nines not bothering to try and speak to the fuming detective. By the time they arrived at the precinct, Gavin didn't make any move to get out of the car. Nines noticed once he had exited the vehicle.

"Detective, are you coming?" Nines questioned.

"No." Gavin replied.

"Why?" Nines asked, not willing to let Gavin go so easily.

"I need alone time." Is the response Gavin settled on. Nines stayed still for a moment before giving a solemn nod.

"Have a nice day Detective Reed." Nines closed the car door and Gavin quickly put his car in reverse, driving away as fast as the speed limit would allow.

Gavin saw from his read-view mirror that Nines stood in place for a minute, watching Gavin's car leave. Weirdo. The detective stayed absolutely silent as he drove to his house, some random music blaring. He was more focused on what had happened earlier.

Jesus, he really didn't need to be thinking about that asshole. He had already dumped him! That shit was in the past, he didn't need to worry about it anymore. By the time Gavin pulled into his parking space, his mind was far gone. He was stuck, thinking about...well...things he shouldn't need to!

When Gavin walked into his apartment, he made sure to stick his leg out so Bobo couldn't escape. When the door was fully closed, Gavin picked up the silver cat who was patiently waiting for him.

"I'd die before talking to _him_ again. If I die, Tina can take care of you and 'Nips." Gavin said to the cat, walking to the living room couch. When he sat down, his phone buzzed. Gavin looked at the notification as he took of his jacket, but froze as he read who it was from.

**New Message from 'bitch (dont talk 2 him)'**

_Hey._

Nope. Nope. Hell no! Gavin closed his phone and slammed it on the couch, throwing his jacket on the floor for Turnip and Bobo to get cat hair all over. Gavin gave a sigh, quickly calming down from that miniature heart attack. Why he still had that asshole's number was a mystery. He could feel his heart rate skyrocket again when another buzz happened.

_Answer me?_

Gavin's stomach churned at the thought of actually talking to _him_ again. Maybe he had changed? Maybe he wasn't a complete bitch anymore? Probably not. Tina and Chris had told him that most toxic people don't change. Even Anderson had agreed! Wether that was Hank or Connor, Gavin couldn't remember. Another buzz pulled Gavin out of his thoughts once again.

_Gavie, please? I just wanna talk..._

Maybe....? No! Hell to the fucking no! Gavin was lucky to leave him the time he did! He didn't need to go delving back into the past. Gavin didn't bother to read the next message when it buzzed. He just grabbed his phone, and trudged to his bedroom. He slammed his phone on the bedside table and flopped down on the bed, blankets consuming him.

He gave an annoyed groan when his phone started buzzing from a phone call. The bitch was trying to call him now?? How desperate are you?? Gavin grabbed a pillow and smushed it over his ears, trying to avoid hearing the annoying buzz of his phone. He really didn't want this. That whole experience was shit, he just didn't realize that until Chris and Tina pointed it out.

As soon as the attempted phone call ended, another started. Gavin let out another annoyed groan, much louder than the previous one but muffled by the blankets. He was really getting desperate. By the time a third call was attempted, Gavin let out a heavy sigh. The pillow was tossed across the bed. He looked at the text messages he had missed.

_Gavie?_

_At least read my messages so I know you’re alive._

_Please??? We don’t have to talk,, just let me know you’re okay_

Gavin stared at the messages. The nickname “Gavie” made his heartache. Did he really miss this asshole that much? He couldn’t! That bitch wasn’t deserving of him! That’s what Chris and Tina said! They were always right! They always knew what was good! Unless....

Unless maybe, _he_ was right. Maybe Chris and Tina just didn’t like him, so they’re trying to control Gavin. No! No that can’t be! If they were trying to control Gavin, then why was Anderson with it?! Still, he couldn’t remember which Anderson it was, but he remembered that he was with Chris and Tina on this one.

Gavin didn’t realize he had opened the messaging app and was on their conversation until a buzz reminded him.

_Ah,, so you do see my messages. You’re just ignoring me?_

Gavin gave a huff before hesitantly typing a reply. He paused as his finger hovered over “send”. Did he really want this? If he sent this message, would everything go back in time? Would he be sent to 2038 again??? Gavin’s hands shook as he squeeze his phone, his finger still hovering over “send”.

Gavin gave a yell as he threw his phone at the wall across from his bed as hard as he could. Bobo, who was sitting near the door, freaked out and ran back out to the living room. Gavin ran a had through his hair. _What was he thinking_?? Was this really what it came too? He was getting so fucking desperate for attention that he was throwing himself back at an ex? Probably.....

Gavin heard his phone buzz from the ground. A shiver went up his spine as he went to stand up. He quickly gathered himself and took a breath before standing and walking to where his phone had landed. Luckily, it wasn’t cracked or broken. However, Gavin wished it was.

_Can we talk? Please? Just wanna check in. See how you’ve been._

Gavin hesitated before opening his phone again. He stared at the screen in shock. Turns out when he threw his phone, his message had sent. _Wonderful_.

_Ah,, so you see my messages. You’re just ignoring me?_

**_Please, not right now._ **

_Can we talk? Please? Just wanna check in. See how you’ve been._

Gavin’s breath went shaky, but he willed it to stay steady. Did he want to do this? Apparently his fingers were ahead of his brain because he was on his contact page, finger hovering over the “call” button. Just like earlier with “send”. Gavin walked over and sat on his bed, staring blankly at the screen. “Call” was screaming at him. Did he want it? Did he care? Did it even matter? Maybe he could block and delete the number, that way he’d never have to speak to him again!

Still, it appeared his finger was still ahead of his decision making. Half of him wanted to throw the phone again. Try and break it. Then he can’t talk to you. The other half wanted to press that call button and invite him over. Not like it could hurt you! Right?

He made up his mind.

It took two rings before a voice picked up.

“ _Gavie?_ ”

“Hey Nate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, fuck, schools coming up for me :) i’m like one of the last people on earth to start, but it’s gonna happen on monday,, so i’m thinking of changing my schedule to two or three times a week?? i’m not sure, but i’m sorry for all the schedule changes :/


	18. Nines Learns About Relationships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines wants to hear more about Gavin's ex-boyfriend/partner, and goes to Connor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHO'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL WAS PUSHED TO THE 21ST  
> i'm gonna post normally until the 21st, then i'll be trying to post every wednesday and saturday! 
> 
> little bit of info for this chapter : the sections inclosed in "------------" and are italics are connor's memories
> 
> tw - toxic relationship :(

"Hey! You're back!" Tina exclaimed as Nines walked into the bullpen. "How'd it go? Where's Gavin?" Tina looked around, trying to see if he was hiding behind his partner or something.

"He went home early." Nines replied.

"Why? He barley ever goes home early..." Tina frowned.

"We encountered...someone, that we weren't expecting to see. Detective Reed needed some alone time." Nines explained, hoping Tina would understand what he meant.

"Who'd you see?" Tina didn't get it. Nines glanced around before lowering his voice to a whisper.

"Nathan Keres." He hoped Connor or any of the other androids running around didn't have their hearing turned up. Tina's face paled.

"What?" She whispered.

"He's the Pikeman's gardener." Nines said, his eyes still darting around for anyone who could be eavesdropping.

"Downgrade much? Went from Detective to Private Gardener?" Tina cringed. "He deserves it though." Nines silently placed a hand on Tina's shoulder and led her across the bullpen and into the break room. It wasn't a huge improvement in privacy, but it was enough.

"You okay dude?" Tina asked, seeing Nines' LED circling yellow.

"I want to ask you about Nathan." He stated. Tina's face darkened as her eyes darted to the floor. "I'm aware that he was a toxic person, but _what_ made him so horrible?"

"Look Nines, when I first met Nate, I knew there was something up with him. I stayed away from him." Tina explained. "When Gavin finally told me and Chris about what kind of shit was happening, I helped but still kept my distance from Nate. I can't tell you a lot about Nate myself, because I barley saw him and he barley saw me."

"Is there anyone I _can_ ask?" Nines questioned.

"I know Connor saw a few of their feuds. Chris and I got all our info from him." Tina crossed her arms, seeming to be getting a little uncomfortable. "You could do that weird hand thingy with him." Nines nodded.

"Thank you Officer Chen. I apologize if I made you uncomfortable." Nines said, stepping away.

"Nah, I'm fine." Nines knew that was a lie, but he gave a smile and left. He hesitantly walked towards Connor's desk. Did he really want to see Gavin fight with some random guy he never knew? Not really, but maybe it could help him understand future outbursts from Gavin. Before Nines knew it, he was standing in front of Connor's desk.

"Hey Nines! What's up?" Connor asked, his usual smile on his face. Nines knew that it would be gone by the time he asked about Nate... Nines decided on using android telepathy instead.

**_I want to talk to you about Nathan Keres._ **

_What? Why?_

Like Nines had predicted, Connor's smile disappeared and was replaced by a shocked/worried expression. 

**_Officer Chen said you had seen a few arguments between Gavin and him, and I'd like to see._ **

_Again, Why? I never thought of you as the 'i like to watch people fight' type._

**_Does it matter? I just want to know what Nathan was like._ **

Not a total lie, but not the whole truth. Nines hoped Connor didn't notice that. Connor paused, staring at his desk before looking back up at Nines to reply.

_Okay. Meet me in the observation room in five._

Connor disconnected and turned to his terminal to finish up work. As Nines quietly strode away, he heard Lieutenant Anderson say 'Did you and Nines do that telepathy thing?' A Pause, 'You guys are weird.'.

Nines stopped by his desk, placing a hand on the corner. From what he had heard from others (and Gavin himself), Nathan wasn't the nicest guy. It was _so_ bad that Gavin had forbid anyone to talk about him. Even when he wasn't around, Officers were still hesitant to talk about the ex-detective. From that information alone, it seems nobody liked Keres either. As a few minutes passed, Nines stood by his desk really thinking through this decision. Would it get violent? Would he see Gavin hurt? He really hoped not. It wasn't until Connor placed a hand on Nines' shoulder did he realize that 5 minutes had already passed.

Connor removed his hand when Nines snapped out of his daydream state and led the fellow android to the observation room. The room looked the same as the last time he was there, watching Gavin interrogate two androids for the Damien/DL500 case. Connor leaned on the table against the wall and stared at the floor. The room was silent. It reminded Nines of the Salty Zen Garden Gavin.

"You really want to see this?" Connor said, finally looking up at Nines. His normally bright brown eyes seemed dark and blank. It was creepy...

"I have a feeling everyone is over-dramatizing this situation." Nines accused. Connor shrugged.

"It never got violent as far as I know, but it was pretty obvious Keres was very manipulative." Connor explained. "Detective Reed never noticed. He never saw Keres as toxic until Officer Chen and Officer Miller pointed it out to him."

"But if it was obvious that Nathan was manipulative, how did Detective Reed never notice?" Nines questioned. It seemed like you could spot a toxic person easily. Connor shook his head.

"Detective Reed trusted Keres with his life. Their whole relationship was Keres manipulating Reed into completely ignoring his toxic signs." Connor said, his voice quieter than normal. "If you love someone you don't wanna believe that they're a bad person. That's just how it works." Nines looked down to the floor, eyebrows creased. 

More silence passed over the brothers, Connor letting Nines think about his explanation.

"Are you still up for seeing the footage I have?" Connor asked after a minute or two. It took Nines a second, but he nodded. Nines walked over to face Connor. The two androids removed their synthetic skin and began connection. "Disconnect if you feel too overwhelmed." is the last thing Nines heard before delving into the first video.

\------------

_Connor was sitting at his desk, typing away at some random case report that he had forgotten to update. It was something about a human/android double suicide that was suspected to be a homicide. Connor's attention was snapped away from the computer when two voices entered the bullpen, attracting the attention of the other officers too._

_"You're not listening to what I'm saying!" Detective Reed yelled, storming towards the break room. Detective Keres was following him._

_"Gavie, I'm listening! You're just too stubborn to listen to my suggestions!" Nathan shot back._

_"You're suggestions are shit!" Gavin spat._

_"I'm just trying to help! Are you really being so close-minded that you're just gonna ignore any input from a third party?"_

_"You're not listening!!" Gavin yelped, turning around to face his partner. "Everytime I try and explain what's going on, you completely ignore the whole problem and focus on the littlest fucking thing!"_

_"I'm suggesting something that could be useful for you! Do you not love me enough to take my suggestions literally??" Nathan retaliated. Connor saw Gavin's face soften from across the office._

_"No! I do love you! But why does it matter that my brother and his girlfriend want to go out to eat with me this weekend? It's my brother and his girlfriend!" Gavin took a few steps towards Nathan. "All they asked for was a restaurant suggestion! I handed you the phone, then you hung up! What the fuck!_

_"They could figure out what restaurant to go to without your help. I wanted to spend time with you!" Nathan exclaimed. "Is that too much to ask?" Gavin seemed to be out of anything to say, because he went silent. After a second of silence, both between the detectives and across the bullpen, Gavin turned around and walked to the break room. Nathan followed, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. Connor turned back to his terminal, continuing to type the report._

\------------

_In this new setting, Connor was standing in the break room watching Lieutenant Anderson and Officer Morris talk about a recent crime scene that had been trashed. Connor wasn't giving any input, as there was nothing he really could say. His attention moved to the coffee maker where Detective Reed and Detective Keres were standing. Connor increased his hearing to listen in on their conversation._

_"It's just a sleepover! Like a high school sleepover!" Gavin exclaimed, quietly at his partner._

_"High school sleepovers can end in disaster." Nathan frowned. Gavin gave a huff._

_"Did Tina invite you over? No! She didn't" exasperated Gavin. "This is between Tina, Chris, and Me. You are not involved." Nathan's face saddened._

_"But Gavie...you love me right?" Nathan whined. Gavin quickly shot his head up to look at Nathan._

_"Of course!" Gavin fretted, squeezing the other detective's arm. "Why wouldn't I?"_

_"Then how come you don't wanna spend time with me?" Nathan's face was covered in a fake sadness. Gavin didn't seem to notice that it was fake._

_"I do wanna spend time with you! I really do! But this is a friend thing. Tina didn't invite you..." Gavin explained._

_"Can't you just bring me alone?" Nathan questioned. Gavin paused, and looked down. After a moment or two he replied._

_"I'll see what I can do." Connor turned his hearing back down to acceptable levels and turned his attention back to the table where a few files were laid out. The crime scene had been trashed twenty minutes after the police left..._

\------------

_This new setting was familiar. Connor was standing in front of Officer Person's desk, the desk next to Nines'. Except, back then it was Detective Keres' Desk. There was a loud scream of aguish that came from the break room that caught both Connor and Officer Person's attention. Most, if not all, of the bullpen turned their heads too._

_"GET AWAY!" Detective Reed._

_"Gavie! I'm trying to help!" Detective Keres._

_"I DON'T WANT YOUR HELP!" Gavin came running out of the break room, clearly distressed. Officer Miller attempted to ask what was wrong, but Gavin ignored him. The detective shuffled through his things, probably making sure everything was there. Just as Gavin threw his jacket on, Detective Keres came over and placed a hand on Gavin's shoulder. Reed flinched and backed away._

_"Gavie, I want to help!" Nathan cried._

_"You heard me! I don't want it!" Gavin fumed. He went to grab his car keys that were laying on his desk, but Nathan snatched them away first. "Give those to me!"_

_"No! I'm gonna help you first." Nathan growled._

_"But I DON'T WANT IT." Gavin screamed. He grabbed at Nathan's hand and pulled at the car keys. Detective Keres' grip was too strong._

_"Gavie-"_

_"NO!" Gavin gave up on the keys and grabbed his phone. He made a dash for the gate, but Nathan clutched his shoulder, pulling the Detective back to his desk. Connor seemed to be the only one that notice Gavin hiss in pain when he was pulled back._

_"I'm going to help." Nathan ordered, staring the shorter man right in the eyes. Gavin nodded. Again, Connor seemed to be the only one that noticed his eyes start to wet. Nathan draped his arm on Gavin's shoulders, and he let out another small wince. The two partners walked away, leaving everyone in the bullpen confused and worried. Officer Chen and Officer Miller whispered things to each other that Connor couldn't pick up._

\------------

The connection was broken. Nines' eyes blinked open as he lowered his hand. Connor turned his head away, avoiding eye contact. His arms were crossed and he seemed a bit uncomfortable. Nines didn't understand what was so bad about those situations.

"Everyone is over-dramatizing their relationship. Couples have arguments all the time." Nines said, confused. Connor shook his head.

"You know nothing about relationships, do you Nines?" Connor questioned. 

"What?"

"That's what happened when other people were around. What do you think happened when they were alone?" Connor asked, turning his head to Nines. His eyes were dark. "No one can be sure that Gavin and Nathan were okay when they were alone. Gavin never talked about it, not even to Chris and Tina." It was weird hearing Connor call his co-workers by their first names...

"I'm still trying to figure out why those situations were bad." Nines puzzled. "They looked fine to me?"

"You're being oblivious." Connor shot. "If you actually analyze what Keres was saying, and the tone he was using, it was a lie. He just wanted Detective Reed for himself." Nines went silent. Connor went silent. The room was uncomfortably silent.

"I still don't understand." Nines spoke up. Connor sighed.

"What would you say if someone you loved was forcing you to not see your friends?" Connor asked. 

"I'd see my friends anyway? A romantic partner cannot stop me." Nines answered.

"But what if your loved one said that you didn't love them? What if they guilt tripped you into staying? What if they forced you to stay home with them and you didn't get a say?" Connor questioned, his eyes narrowed.

"That...That's not....good." Nines stumbled.

"Exactly. From what I saw, Keres guilt tripped Detective Reed multiple times into staying at home with him." Connor's gaze shifted back to the floor. "It was a miracle that Keres was transferred the day after the day they broke up for good."

"If Nathan was guilt tripping Detective Reed into staying home with him, then why was it so easy for them to break up?" Nines asked.

"It wasn't." Connor started. "Tina and Chris had to have a very long talk with Gavin. They had to convince him that Keres wasn't the guy he seemed to be. He wasn't the loving and trusting man Gavin had made him out to be. Then, Gavin had to decide. His mind wanted to stay, but he knew it wasn't healthy. His mental health was deteriorating. Breaking up wasn't easy for him. He needed a lot of support to do it."

Nines stared at his feet. Now he felt inconsiderate.

"I better head back out." Connor said, standing straight. "I'll see you tomorrow Nines." Connor walked out of the observation room, arms held tightly behind his back. Nines sat down in one of the rolling chairs, and held his head in his hands. If that was just a little bit of what Detective Reed went through....

Maybe he should have been more gentle when talking to Gavin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm bad at writing relationships so sorry if this is ba d
> 
> unrelated, but thank y'all so much for the support :) i appreciate it a lot !!


	19. feelings are yucky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines and Tina go to see where Gavin went. They invade his house to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter features :  
> -nines not doing work bc gavin isnt there  
> -hank’s birthday party surprise preparation  
> -tina mentioning her android gf  
> -nines talking about his feelings (ew)  
> -tina and nines invading gavin’s house  
> -(lots of parenthesis for some reason)

The next day was very similar to a few weeks back when Gavin's cat Freyja passed away. Nines spent the rest of the day at his desk, but instead of working, he was thinking about Gavin. Not in a weird way! Like, as in, 'i feel like shit for the way i treated you' kind of thinking!

Nines was practically doing anything to not work. He counted the cat hairs on Gavin's chair _(he gave up at 3,462)_ , he counted how many times Lieutenant Anderson gave a nervous glance at Connor _(he stopped counting at 12)_ , and he counted how many times Officer Chen unnecessarily adjusted the cuffs of her sleeves _(it seemed to be a nervous tic of hers)_. He noted how often Captain Fowler typed the word "the" on his keyboard _(which was a lot)_ , he noted how often Officer Person stretched his arms over his head _(about twice per minute)_ , and he noted how often Officer Miller looked at a photo of his wife and son _(also about twice per minute)_.

The next person Nines had decided to stare at happened to be the android across the bullpen from him. Connor was sitting silently at his desk. His LED was streaming yellow, and had been since their conversation a few hours ago. Nines noted that he looked tense, his shoulders refusing to relax. If he was human, he would definitely be sore. Connor also seemed to be typing something very aggressively. What he was typing, Nines wasn't sure, but it was either an angry email that would stay in his drafts for forever _(like the rest of his angry essays)_ , or a case report that he was taking his tension out on.

Was it Nines' fault that his brother was tense? Was it Nines' fault that Tina was repeatedly adjusting her sleeves, rather nervously? Probably not. What Nines knew for sure, is that it wasn't his fault that Officer Collins tripped and fell on his way to the bathroom.

The next day, Nines didn't exactly expect Gavin to be absent, but it wasn't surprising. The last time they had an argument he disappeared for three days _(and though it wasn't his fault, he had something to do with it)_. Nines, just like the previous day, refused to do his work in favor of staring at the gate. It wasn't until Officer Collins and Officer Morris passed by did Nines snap out of his daydreaming.

"I heard Reed actually called in that he'd be absent." Collins said.

"Really? He was always an unexcused absence kind of guy!" Morris exclaimed. Nines turned his chair slightly, attempting to hear more of their conversation.

"Yeah, me too!" Collins grinned. "'Think he has some special thing going on today." Special thing? Gavin would have said something, seeing as today was Lieutenant Anderson's birthday. Speaking of Lieutenant Anderson, he and Connor weren't present. This, was on purpose though. The Lieutenant's party was today and everyone wanted to make sure it would be perfect for the respected officer.

When Nines turned back to have a view of the gate, Officer Miller and Officer Chen came in, each with a large box. Nines hoped that Gavin was behind them, but alas, it was just Officer Person. Nines scanned the boxes and saw that it was a bunch of party decorations. Of course they were gonna make this the most over-dramatic event. Nobody would get any more work done today, that's for sure.

"Alright, Cops, Detectives, and other precinct members!" Tina announced, standing on Chris' chair, Chris holding onto the back to stabilize it. "Anderson's birthday is today, and The Android Anderson is distracting him while we get this boring ass office ready for a party!!" Human and Android officers gave small cheers. "Now, before all you uptight androids, and I'm specifically calling out Detective Nines over there, before you start worrying about any incoming cases, we got Officer Selina, Officer Ollie, and Officer Brooke out in the lobby taking any incoming cases. Plus, we can just shoot any complex cases to other precincts."

Nines liked that he had that info to calm his creeping worker nerves, he didn't need that _(as Gavin and Tina would put it)_ call-out post to be public.

"OKAY! So, let's get all android officers on the digital decor, because we all know that the human officers are shit at tech stuff." Tina ordered. A few human officers gave joking groans, to which she replied with a rude finger. "Humans can do the physical decor because we're used to that shit. Digital decor is on Collins' desk while physical shit is on Chris' desk." Tina gestured to the two large boxes on the officer's desks. "We all know Hank has a shit attention span, and Connor can only entertain him with stupid stuff until a certain time, so lets try and get this ready before 2pm! Let's go!" Tina hopped off the chair and androids and humans scrambled to get started on decorations. Tina and Chris quickly came over to Nines' desk.

"Is Gavin gone?" Chris questioned.

"Excused Absence." Nines said.

"Why?" Tina asked. Nines shrugged. "I hope he didn't purposely skip this. We need all hands we can get, plastic or meaty."

"Don't used the word 'meaty' to describe your hands..." Nines cringed and Tina gave a laugh.

"Well, don't sit there wallowing that you're boyfriend isn't here! You can go pick up the cake!" Chris suggested.

"Detective Reed is not my boyfriend." Nines pointed out. Chris completely ignored that, and scrolled through his phone.

"I'll send you the address and you can go pick it up." Chris said, tapping a few things. A notification appeared on Nines' HUD. The address from Chris' number. "We'll be waiting here."

"Try not to run into your brother and the other Anderson!" Tina added before the two officers walked away. Why it wasn't Connor organizing his own partner's birthday party was a mystery to Nines, but that didn't matter. He had a mission to distract himself. As Nines left the bullpen and headed for the front door, he noted Officer Selina, Ollie, and Brooke all chatting in the lobby. He also noted that Detective Reed's usual parking spot was still empty. The address Chris had sent was in walking distance from the precinct.

Luckily, Nines had received a message from Connor saying that they weren't anywhere near the precinct, so he didn't have to worry about bumping into them with a birthday cake. Speaking of the cake, it was honestly a stupid design in Nines' opinion. It was blue and had plenty of random patterns that didn't make sense to Nines, and it had the words " _Happy Birthday Lieutenant!_ " written across the top. Nines was surprised it didn't say " _Happy Birthday Bitch!_ " or something mocking Lieutenant Anderson's old age seeing as it was Tina organizing this whole thing.

By the time Nines arrived at the precinct again, half of the digital decorations had already been set up. Fake balloons on everyone, besides Lieutenant Anderson's desk, a few fake streamers strewn across desks and windows. There was real balloons and streamers on the Lieutenant's desk. It seemed as though the decor was almost half-way done. Nines walked over to where Tina and Chris were in the break room, discussing something involving the Lieutenant's presents.

"Nines! Did you run into Connor?" Chris asked.

"No. They're on the other side of town." Nines explained, placing the cake down on the table. "Did either of you hear anything from Detective Reed?"

"I texted him a few times, but he hasn't answered." Tina said, staring at her phone screen.

"I called him after you left, but he didn't pick up." Chris added.

"Hm. Maybe he's just busy." Nines concluded.

"What could be more important than a co-workers birthday?" Tina gasped looking up and Nines. He raised an eyebrow.

"Plenty of things." He began. "A pet, friend, or family members falling ill or passing away, An event back in a homestate or city. Maybe a family emergency, or falling ill yourself-"

"Okay, I get it." Tina interrupted. "Brain fart there. That makes total sense."

"I'm betting that Gavin got sick." Chris guessed. "He has a really bad immune system. Like, once when I was in high school, he was walking me home and he threw up on the way because he ran longer than 5 minutes."

"Oh my god! I remember that!" Tina laughed.

"Was he okay?" Nines worried.

"Yeah, he was fine." Chris assured. Nines' LED, which had gone yellow, returned to blue.

"Maybe we should check on Gav?" Tina suggested. "If he is sick, we can make sure he's not dying." Tina noticed Nines perk up and the mention of his partner.

"You two can go on ahead. Someone's gotta hold down the fort here." Chris smiled.

"Cool! We'll be back!" Tina grinned, grabbing Nines by the arm and quickly leading him out of the bullpen.

When they arrived at Tina's car, Nines sat in the front seat, patiently waiting for the officer to start her car. They sat in silence for a minute before Tina started speaking.

"So, did you decide if you like-like Gavin or not?" Tina questioned.

"Please tell me that's not the only reason you dragged me to your car." Nines groaned.

"It's not! We are gonna see Gav, I swear!" Tina said, holding her hands up in defense. "I just wanted to have an update on your situation."

“I’m still figuring it out. Feelings are confusing...” Nines admitted.

“Yeah, I get that.” Tina replied, starting her car. “My girlfriend, Valerie, she’s an android’s and she’s still figuring out feelings. She’s been deviant longer than you!”

“Really?” Nines asked as Tina pulled out of her parking spot and out onto the road.

“Oh yeah, definitely. You’re not alone in confusing feelings.” Tina gave her passenger a smile before turning her eyes back to the road to Gavin’s apartment. “You wanna vent?”

“What?”

“Do you want to vent about your feelings? It helps if you just start talking and let it flow.” Tina suggested. “It helps me.”

“Okay...” Nines mumurmered, having just looked up the definition of ‘venting’. The android took a breath. “Honestly, where do I start? Feelings are so complicated, and I still don’t understand them! Even though I’ve only been alive for about a month, I feel like I should have some sort of grasp on emotions, but it’s so hard!!”

“Mm.” Tina hummed, flicking on her turn signal.

“Plus, the whole ‘weird feeling’ that I get in my chest whenever Detective Reed talks is still bothering me. I still haven’t talked with Simon about it, and I have no idea when I’ll do that. I can’t just burst into New Jericho and demand to see one of the leaders!

The whole emotional situation is stressful, and I haven’t seen my stress levels go below 30% in weeks! I’m going to overheat at some point, and I don’t know when or how I’ll deal with it since I’ll be unconscious! Detective Reed might be contributing to my stress levels, since he’s been closed off as of late. He’s been tense, and I can’t get him to speak with me.

I honestly don’t know what to do at this point. Life is confusing, and I started it just last month. It feels like yesterday I was laying on a bed in New Jericho’s maintenance wing...”

Nines let out a sigh as Tina pulled into Gavin’s parking lot.

“Feel better?” Tina asked, glancing at the android.

“Yeah...” Nines took a deep breath to help his inner components cool a little.

“Good.” Tina smiled. The smile didn’t last long because she noticed Gavin’s car was still in its parking spot. “Gav’s car is here, so he has to be in his apartment, right?”

“Most likely.” Nines replied. After Tina parked her car in an open spot, the two friends traveled up the stairs to apartment 208. Tina knocked on the door and Nines only detected movement from two felines. Not a human.

“Yo Gavin!” Tina yelled at the door. “Open up! This is the second time we’ve had to do this!” There was no reply.

“I only detect Bobo and Turnip.” Nines commented.

“Hm.” Tina knocked on the door again. “I’m coming in asshole!” Tina picked out a key from her keyring and jammed it in the keyhole. She unlocked the door and slipped into the apartment, sticking her leg out to prevent Bobo from fleeing. Nines entered as well, closing the door behind him.

Tina picked up the silver cat in front of her, and looked around.

“The lights aren’t on...” Tina murmured, flicking the hall light on with a finger. Tina walked off to the living room while Nines began using his detective skills to evaluate the area.

Gavin’s car keys were still in the bowl, which made sense as his car was still present as well. As Nines walked into the kitchen, he scanned around. He found that the toaster had been used recently _(about three hours ago)_ , and the jelly jar had been opened around the same time only to be screwed back on weird. After readjusting the jelly jar’s cap so it closed properly, Nines left the kitchen and walked towards the bathroom. Peering in and giving a quick scan, the shower had been used about three hours ago, and a few hygiene supplies _(that Nines didn’t care for)_ had been moved slightly as well.

Nines turned away from the bedroom and was met with Tina standing in front of Gavin’s bedroom door holding an article of clothing.

“He left his jacket.” She said, holding out the leathery fabric. “The last time he left his jacket was....” She trailed off then let out a gasp. Tina rushed into the bedroom, Nines and Turnip following her. Tina threw the jacket on the bed and flew open the closet. Nines thought it seemed a little weird for Tina to start rummaging through Gavin’s clothing, but he assumed it happened because they were best friends?

“What are you looking for Officer Chen?” Nines asked after Tina switched drawers.

“Long short short, me and Gavin do this thing where if either of us aren’t home and we expect the other to show up at our house, we leave a note in a secret place to let the other know that we’re okay.” Tina explained, rushed and panicked. “I’m really hoping he remembered...”

After a second of rummaging though Gavin’s 17 different pairs of pants, Tina let out a sigh of relief and pulled out a paper. She shut the drawer and turned to Nines.

“I’ll tell Gavin to find a new spot since you saw it.” Tina laughed. She opened the note with a content smile. Nines bent down to pick up Turnip, but when he straightened again, Tina’s happy expression was dark.

“What’s wrong Officer Chen?” Nines questioned. Tina’s gaze slowly tore itself away from the paper and up to Nines.

“He’s at Nate’s house...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BBEKCLAKCKKEKF IM SORRY FOR POSTING THIS SO LATE  
> i knew i wanted this one to be a little longer,, but i totally blanked and forgot about it so HERE IT IS


	20. ‘Ha Ha’ in a Monotone Voice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines and Tina go to save Gavin from his ex. They bring the detective to the Lieutenant's party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER 20 BAYBEE !!!  
> anyway schools started for me (finally,, jesus chris) and i’m sorry if this chapters bad,,,

Turnip fell out of Nines' arms when Tina spoke. Nate??? _Really_??? Of all places Gavin could have gone it was _Nate_???

"You can't be serious." Nines gasped, eyes wide. Tina banded him the paper that had been hidden in the dresser.

_"hey tina_

_not surprised that you came here, since i never give myself an excused absence. anyway, i'm over at nate's house. please don't worry, i'm completely over him. also, please don't follow me. thanks_

_-gavin"_

Putting aside the fact that Gavin wrote the whole note in lowercase and it annoyed him immensely, the phrases ' _don't worry_ ' and ' _don't follow me_ ' were very worrisome.

"We need to go over and get him out of there." Tina said, snatching the letter back as she walked out of the bedroom.

"But he said-" Nines was going to refuse but Tina cut him off.

"Don't start with that shit, RK." She definitely sounded upset. "We're going to that asshole's house, and we're going to get Gavin out of there before he gets himself hurt."

"Hurt?!" Nines exclaimed. "I thought their arguments never got violent!"

"I meant emotionally and mentally, but who's saying that Nate won't hurt him physically?" Tina gave Bobo and scratch on the head before leaving the apartment, Nines quickly followed. After Tina relocked the door, they all but ran down the hallway and down the stairs to Tina's car. Nines saw Tina give a nervous glance at Gavin's car before getting in her own.

Tina fumbled with her key ring before jamming her car keys in the ignition. Nines scanned Tina as she pulled out of the apartment parking lot and out on to the main road. Her stress levels had sky rocketed up to 87%.

"Officer Chen, you're stress levels are extremely high. Maybe you should take a few deep breaths." Nines suggested. He heard from Lieutenant Anderson that deep breathing helps with Humans stress levels (and surprisingly, androids too!).

"Speak for yourself. I see that you're nervously fidgeting with that jacket. How high's your god damn stress levels?" Tina shot back. Nines glanced down, and she was right. His hands had began fiddling with his Cyberlife jacket's hem. Nines gave a quick check at his stress levels and found them at...79.6%....

When Nines didn't reply to Tina's question, the car went silent. Tina's fingers eagerly tapped at the steering wheel every time they came to a stop light. Nines noted every single street sign they passed, making a road map for himself incase he ever needed to come to Nathan's house himself.

Eventually, Tina parked her car on the side of the road, right next to a light blue suburban house. The house had a tidy lawn, which made sense since Nathan was a gardener now. The porch was small and slightly cluttered. There was a black car in the driveway. When Tina turned off her car, she quickly took off her seatbelt to leave, but Nines grabbed her arm.

"Officer Chen, you are far too stressed to do anything peacefully." Nines explained. "I understand you don't like Nathan, but you can't just go up to his house and demand to take Detective Reed. He said that he didn't want you to come anyway." Tina sighed, and slumped in her seat. Nines moved his hand to her shoulder, giving a comforting rub.

"I'm just scared. I've known Gavin since High School. We've been best friends for such a long time, that I just can't imagine a world where he doesn't get support from me or Chris..." Tina mumbled. "I don't know if you'd get how I feel though...."

"Officer Chen, believe me when I say I do understand." Nines said. "Even though I have only been activated for about a month, I've grown to be family to Connor and Lieutenant Anderson, and friends with you, Officer Miller, and Detective Reed. If anything bad happened to anyone I....love.... I'd be hurt myself and I'd do my best to help them, just as you would for Detective Reed." Tina stared off out the front window.

"Hm." Tina hummed. "You're a lot more considerate that I remember. Maybe I'm just blind."

"I can assure you that you have no chance of developing blindness anytime soon Officer Chen." Nines smiled.

" _God_ , now you sound like Connor before he understood jokes and idioms!" Tina laughed. The car dove back to silence, but it was a lot more comfortable for both parties. Tina looked up and out of Nines' window. She gave a gasp and pointed out. Nines followed Tina's gaze and saw Detective Reed storming out of the house.

Nathan followed him out, seemingly begging about something. Gavin replied with a yell, and began taking something off his wrist. It was a wrist brace? Where did he get that? Gavin threw the thick fabric to the ground and gave Nathan one last yell before storming over to the curb. He didn't notice Nines and Tina sitting in the car as he sat on the curb in front of them, Nathan sorrowfully walking back to his house.

As soon as Nathan was out of view, Tina and Nines quickly exited the car.

"Gavin!" Tina exclaimed.

"Tina?" Gavin gasped, looking up at the officer running up to him. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"We went to your house and found your note. What were you thinking??" Tina explained.

"We?" Gavin puzzled. He looked to his left and saw Nines worriedly standing a few feet away. Nines was giving the detective a scan to make sure he wasn't injured. The scan came back fine, despite a large bruise on his right ankle and his left wrist having a grade 2 sprain.

"Detective are you alright?" Nines said, kneeling down next to Gavin. "Your wrist is sprained.

"YOUR _WHAT_???" Tina yelped. "I'M GONNA KILL HIM!" Tina rose from where she was crouching to storm to Nate's door, but Gavin caught her hand and pulled her back.

"Don't, Don't..." He sighed. "He didn't mean to, it was an accident." Tina gave a wary glare at the house in front of her before crouching back down to Gavin.

"You have a grade 2 sprain, Detective. You should probably see a doctor." Nines suggested.

"Why should I see a doctor when I have a high tech android partner?" Gavin smirked. "If you could diagnose me with a sprained wrist, you could just tell me how to make it better, right?"

"I could, but it'd be better to take a professional doctors advice." Nines advised.

"Okay, but how about no?" Gavin said, with a sly smile. Nines gave a glance at Tina who had a mischievous smile of her own. Nines gave a heavy sigh before replying.

"Fine. Grade 2 sprains need a brace for support. You'd be out of commission for, at the least, two weeks." Nines explained.

"And the most?" Tina asked.

"Ten." Tina and Gavin's eyes widened but Nines swiftly continued as to not worry them. "However, from what my optical unit scanners are telling me, it will only take about two to four weeks for this to heal."

"Thank god." Gavin sighed of relief.

"I believe we have a few stored back at the precinct.” Nines replied. “I'm assuming you wouldn't have any at your apartment." Gavin gave a small laugh, and a small glance at Tina told Nines all he needed to know.

"Okay! Let's head to the precinct then!" Tina exclaimed, standing up. Nines carefully helped Gavin off the ground. "Don't use that wrist because if you hurt yourself more I will go and snap this assholes neck." Tina said to Gavin, pointing to Nate's house when reference 'this asshole'.

Tina got into the drivers seat, while Nines opened the door for Gavin as to not damage his wrist. Nines rounded the car, and in a last minute decision, decided to sit in the back with his partner. Gavin gave him a confused stare as Nines buckled his seatbelts.

“Not gonna sit in the front?” He questioned. Nines shook his head. “Why not?”

“Am I not allowed to sit in the same proximity as my partner?” Nines said back. Gavin paused before giving a nod as if to say ‘ _touché_ ’. A few minutes after Tina began driving to the precinct, Nines got a phone call.

At first he thought it was Chris, but after reading the ID, he could feel his thirium pump start working faster.

“I’m getting a call from Connor.” Nines announced.

“Are they at the precinct?” Tina asked, slightly panicked.

“Pick up the call plastic!” Gavin added. Nines did just that.

“ _Nines are you guys done yet??_ ” was the first thing Connor said. “ _I can’t keep the lieutenant busy forever, and it shouldn’t even be that hard to set up birthday decorations with how many people are at the precinct right now!_ ” Nines took a small breath before explaining.

“Detective Reed, Officer Chen, and I are all driving to the precinct currently.” He started. “There was a mishap involving Detective Reed, but it’s over now. The officers should almost be done if they aren’t already.”

“ _Okay, well, tell me when they’re done, because Hank’s getting annoyed._ ” Connor hung up the call, and Nines was left with silence again.

“Lieutenant Anderson is getting antsy according to Connor.” Nines commented.

“Okay, well the precinct is right over here anyway.” Tina said, turning down the road that housed the DPD precinct. By the time Tina parked her car, Officer Person came running out of the front doors.

“There you are! Chris just got yelled at by Connor, and we were hoping you guys would be back soon.” He explained, leading the trio back into the building.

“Connor yelled at Chris?” Tina laughed. “What’d he do?”

“Chris was explaining why they were taking so long and Connor ended up getting super annoyed I guess.” Officer Person shrugged as they entered the bullpen. “Chris is in the break room. There’s a few final touches we need to make, but otherwise we’re done.” Tina gave the officer a nod before he walked away.

“Nines, you deal with Gav’s brace problem, I’ll talk to Chris.” Tina ordered. “Also update Connor on our status. Tell him we’re ready.” Tina quickly rushed off to the break room as soon as she finished her sentence.

Nines gave a glance down at Gavin who was holding his left wrist like it would break more if he moved it even slightly. The Android began walking towards the break room as well. Their medical supplies was stored in the bottom cabinets, despite how Nines thought their should be medical supplies at everyone’s desks.

Gavin trailed behind Nines as they entered the break room. There was now a small pile of presents on a section the counter, all addressed to Lieutenant Anderson. Tina and Chris were off at one of the tables, talking about something involving The Anderson’s. Nines didn’t really care. The android walked to the cabinets and opened one on the bottom row. Plenty of medical supplies, such as hydrogen peroxide, bandages, gauze, and cotton balls, were all stored in multiple different baskets. In the back of the cabinet, there was a small basket of braces wrapped in plastic to keep them sterilized. Convenient that they were here in the first place.

Nines reached into the back and pulled one out, unwrapping it from the plastic bag. Gavin had situated himself on the counter, next to the sink, still carefully holding his wrist. As Nines stood straight again, he quickly sent a message to Connor notifying that everything was ready for the party. Nines turned to the Detective on the counter, he reached out for his hand which the detective gratefully gave.

“Thanks for coming to get me.” Gavin said as Nines carefully helped Gavin put on the brace. “I honestly don’t know how I’d leave because Nate drove me to his house.”

“We thought you were sick. We came to check on you and Tina found your note.” Nines replied, making sure the brace was snug on the Detective’s arm. “Also you’d better find a new place for your secret note hiding spot.” Gavin laughed.

“Aw, you saw it?” Gavin snapped his right fingers in defeat. “That was a great hiding spot!” The two went silent for a moment. The only noise was the chatter of Tina, Chris, and the the other officers as well as the small hum of the fridge.

“Why did you go to Nathan’s house in the first place?” Nines quietly asked. “You said in your note that you were ‘over him’.” Gavin gave a heavy breath out his nose.

“When I came home last night, he was texting me like crazy. I tried to ignore it, but I ended up texting back.” Gavin confessed. “We ended up on a phone call for an hour or two, and we decided to hang out the next day. I gave myself an excused absence and he picked me up. I think you can figure out the rest.”

“Why’d you come out of the house with a sprained wrist and a bruised ankle?” Nines asked. Gavin stared down at the floor, silently.

“I thought he changed...” Gavin mumbled. “I really did....I believed he changed....” A small sniffle came from the detective as he spoke. “I _can’t believe I fell for it_ , that fucker...” Gavin held his right hand at his eyes.

“Detective...” Nines trailed off, not knowing what else to say. Suddenly, Officer Morris ran into the break room.

“Anderson’s car just pulled into the parking lot!” They said before dashing away.

———————

Lieutenant Anderson’s party was a lot better than Nines thought it would be. Gavin seemed a little off put, but otherwise the party went great. It was about 8:30pm when The Anderson’s and most of the precinct packed up and left. Most of the android officers, including Nines, stayed behind and cleaned up the bullpen.

Tina and Chris were in the break room, helping Nines clean up stray wrapping paper and other miscellaneous trash.

“Did Gav get a brace?” Tina asked, throwing away a hand full of red and yellow wrapping paper.

“He did. His wrist should be healed in about three weeks.” Nines replied, pushing in a few chairs with a wad of blue paper in his hand.

“Cool. I updated Chris on what happened.” Tina said, nodding at the other Officer, who was boxing up the remainder of the cake.

“I really thought Gavin was over it. Then again, exes can be hard to let go.” Chris said.

“You have a wife.” Tina commented.

“ _You_ have a girlfriend.” Nines added, tossing the blue wrapping paper away and tying up the full trash back.

“Fair point, fair point...” Tina nodded, leaning against one of the tables. “Speaking of relationships, you ever gonna make a move on Gav?” Nines froze and slowly turned his head towards Tina.

“What?” He said.

“It’s okay to admit you have a crush, dude! We went over this!” Tina exclaimed.

“I do not have a ‘ _crush_ ’ on Detective Reed. We are strictly partners, and at the most friends.” Nines replied.

“What’s your weird feeling then??” Tina urged.

“I’m going to see Simon at Jericho tomorrow after my shift. If it’s something wrong with my programming or biocomponents, he’ll send me off to Josh and he’ll take a look.” Nines explained. “I firmly believe I’ll be seeing both Simon and Josh tomorrow, so that this questionable feeling could finally leave me alone.”

“Fine. Ignore the human with actual emotions!” Tina exclaimed, fake annoyance lacing her words.

“I will.” Nines shot back, taking three full trash bags out of the break room with him, the intention of throwing them in the dumpster.

“Hey, while your out at the dumpster throw the plastic trash you are out with those!” Tina joked.

“Ha Ha.” Nines laughed, completely monotone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gavin : do.... do i have a kink for nines’ medical advice ???
> 
> —
> 
> all the medical shit in this chapter is what i learned from google so don’t yell at me if it’s inaccurate. also i have no idea if police precincts actually have cabinets of medical supplies (i mean,, they should tbh) but in my weird universe they do lmao


	21. gavin please get a therapist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin gets pissed at Nines again, only to be comforted by a passing Jericho Leader.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> simon simon simon si-
> 
> anyway uh,, this chapter :) dunno if i like it or not lmao

The next day was filled with leftover excitement from Lieutenant Anderson's birthday, but a yell from Captain Fowler put everyone back on track. Gavin, though he wasn't absent, was an hour late. The detective quickly walked to his desk, hoping to not attract any unwanted attention. As soon as Gavin arrived, Nines looked up from his terminal with a slight smile.

"Hello Detective." He greeted as Gavin sat down.

"Hey." Gavin said, not glancing at his partner.

"You shouldn't do anything drastic with your sprained wrist." Nines advised. "Just saying."

"Mhm." Gavin hummed. Gavin could tell that Nines' slight smile turned into a slight frown. Like it was a tradition, Tina walked over to Gavin's desk, sitting atop it.

"Hey Gav, I've been meaning to tell you that me and Valerie are gonna go to the party at Jericho for the revolution's anniversary." Tina said. "And you gotta come too."

"Isn't the anniversary in November?" Nines questioned.

"Yeah, but Gavin's probably gonna say he forgot as an excuse not to go." Tina explained. "I'm not letting him use that as an excuse." The officer gave a joking kick at Gavin's chair.

"Yeah, okay." Gavin replied. Tina and Nines both gave the detective a confused look.

"You're....not going to make an annoyed remark?" Tina asked.

"No." Gavin stared blankly at his screen, typing with his non-sprained hand.

"Are you okay Detective Reed?" Nines asked.

"I'm fine." Gavin replied.

"Huh. Are you sure? I would have assumed you'd make a remark about your birthday being before the anniversary..." Tina placed a foot on the arm rest closest to her. Gavin paused his typing for a second before continuing.

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that." He mumbled. Tina let out a sigh.

"Okay, seriously Gavin, what's going on?" She demanded.

"Nothing." He said back, his typing going slightly faster.

"Detective Reed, something is going on and we'd like to know what it is." Nines added.

"Nothings going on." Gavin growled, stopping his absentminded typing.

"Gavin!" Tina scolded, jumping off the desk and giving a stern stare at her friend. "You're not acting like yourself!"

"Leave me alone." Gavin murmured quietly, staring down at the floor.

"What?" Tina questioned.

"Leave me alone." Gavin repeated, looking up at Tina.

"What?! No! There's obviously something going on with you and I wanna help!" Tina exclaimed. Gavin stared at her for a moment before standing up and quickly walking away from his desk, pushing his chair off to the side.

"Detective, where are you going?" Nines called, standing from his chair as well.

"I said to leave me alone, AND YOU DIDN'T FUCKING LISTEN!" Gavin yelled back, storming out of the bullpen. The whole office went quiet, androids and humans frozen in place.

Gavin quickly stomped out of the precinct, ignoring when a receptionist asked what was wrong. The detective dropped to the ground, sitting on the stairs. Gavin held his face in his hands. Jesus, it would be nice to have a smoke right now. But he'd been clean for a year so far, and he didn't wanna ruin that streak.

Maybe he shouldn't have stormed out. Fowler was probably gonna yell at him, but that isn't a surprise. Gavin always got yelled at. He'd become so numb to it, that now he had to put up the act that he cared. God, when he first started working with Nines, everything was new and different. Now, everything's gone back to how it used to be. Nothing exciting, nothing new, nothing interesting. It's all fucking boring and shitty.

What else was there to expect though? Gavin wasn't an important guy. The only person with some kind of importance in the precinct was Connor. He helped finish a fucking revolution! He's even been deemed an honorary leader of Jericho for gods sake! Gavin on the other hand, the most he'd done is successfully give his half-brother a gift for his birthday last July, and even then that's the bare fucking minimum.

As Gavin's thoughts consumed him, he didn't notice footsteps approaching the stairs. The click of shoes stopped as the person stood at the bottom of the stairs, presumably looking at Gavin. The footsteps resumed but only for a moment, as the person walked up a few steps before sitting down next to Gavin. The Detective wearily looked up, almost immediately recognizing the person that sat there.

A PL600 android, aka Simon, one of the four (official) leaders of Jericho. What he was doing here, Gavin didn't have a clue. He hung his head back down completely ignoring the android's worried gaze.

"Are you alright?" Simon questioned. Gavin blew air out his nose, not wanting to talk to this guy at all. "We haven't met, but I'm Simon."

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard of you." Gavin acknowledged. "You were the original Jericho leader before Markus took over." Simon gave a pleased hum.

"I didn't think a human would know about Android History." He said with a smile.

"That was a year ago." Gavin commented.

"It's in the past, so therefore it's history." Simon added.

"Sure..." Gavin muttered under his breath.

"You seem upset." Simon said. "Are you doing alright?"

"No." Gavin replied with a laugh. "When am I ever?" Simon gave a small frown before looking down at Gavin's left hand.

"What happened to your wrist?" He asked.

"Nothing, just an argument with an ex." Gavin replied. Not a total lie. Hopefully Simon couldn't detect lies as well as Nines or Connor did.

"I don't think arguments with past partners are supposed to get violent." Simon insisted.

"It was an accident." Gavin shot back. Even he didn't know if that was a lie or not.

"Okay." Simon said. "Are you supposed to be inside doing work?"

"Yeah, but my friend pissed me off." Gavin admitted. "She was being to...persistent. I asked her to leave me alone but she didn't."

"How long have you been friends?" Simon questioned.

"Since High School." Gavin replied. "We went through the academy together, learning all that psychology and shit."

"Well she was probably just looking out for you." Simon explained. "If someone's known you for a long time, then they're obviously going to care more than a random stranger."

"You're a random stranger." Gavin pointed out giving a glance back at Simon.

"Well, yeah, but my coding was specifically made to help people." Simon smiled. God, he smiled a lot.

"Cool." Gavin muttered. A silence passed over the two. Gavin didn't want to give another look at the blonde android. He was the Jericho leader that anyone could talk to. He could get anyone to spill their secrets if he tried hard enough.

"I'll ask again, are you alright?" Simon said, breaking the silence. Gavin stayed silent for a moment.

"Better." He said. "I guess I just needed to get some air, take my mind off things." Simon gave another smile.

"Well, I'm glad I could help." He said, standing from the stairs and brushing off his pants.

"Yeah, thanks. I should probably get back to work." Gavin replied, standing up as well. "Why are you here? I didn't summon you because I was feeling bad, did I?" Simon gave a small giggle.

"No, I'm here to talk to one of the Detectives." Simon explained. "We had a session after his shift, but one of my patients had to cancel, so I moved his appointment up." Ah, right. Simon is what's basically an android therapist.

"Which Detective?" Gavin questioned.

"Detective RK900. He goes by Nines." Simon replied, ascending a few steps.

"Oh. He's my partner." Gavin remarked, following the android up to the front doors.

"Really?" Simon asked with a raised eyebrow. "Well, then maybe you could escort me to his desk?"

"Uh, of course." Gavin took the lead, letting Simon follow him through the gate. Of course, he let the receptionist know that the Simon was with him. As soon as Gavin entered the bullpen, multiple officers turned their gaze to him. The Detective couldn't tell if it was because of the scene he made earlier or if it was because a Jericho Leader was with him. Gavin took Simon over to his and Nines' desk, the RK900 quietly typing on his computer. Gavin just then noticed that his CyberLife jacket was placed on the back of his chair, once again revealing the black sleeveless turtleneck he wore underneath.

"Hello Nines!" Simon greeted, happily. Nines turned his head at the sound of his name. Of course his eyes landed on Gavin first, but they quickly moved to Simon after realizing that the source of the voice wasn't Gavin at all.

"Why, Hello Simon. I thought our meeting was after my shift, what are you doing here?" Nines questioned, abandoning his terminal screen.

"The patient I had before you canceled, so I moved your appointment up if that's alright?" Simon explained.

"Well, that's great, but-" Gavin could tell Nines was about to say that he had work to do, but Gavin didn't think so.

"Go ahead Tin-can." Gavin said. "Have your therapy appointment. I'll take care of things here." Nines paused, before giving a small nod. He turned off his computer before standing and grabbing his jacket. The android gave a smile to Gavin before leaving, Simon trailing behind.

The Detective sat down in his chair, hoping to not summon Tina again. However, it seemed the Officer understood that he didn't want to be talked to, because she was nowhere to be seen. Gavin turned on his computer which had fallen asleep in his absence. Time to get back to work...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> simon is the jericho therapist and you can’t tell me otherwise


	22. Nostalgic Cinnamon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines has a therapy session with Simon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we got not only simon and nines at new jericho, but also gavin talking about the only family member he hasn’t cut off for some mysterious reason
> 
> ALSO in this chapter, nines refers to everything in a familiar manner. you didn’t miss anything, it was on purpose :)

The walk to New Jericho seemed to drag on for forever. Why Simon didn't just call a cab was beyond Nines' understanding. The pair passed plenty of buildings, wether it be apartments or stores; there was a lot before the New Jericho building came into view.

Memories resurfaced themselves as Nines stepped inside the main lobby. He remembers leaving this area, but not entering. It made sense, since he was activated here. As Simon led him down the hallway, plenty of androids passed. There was deactivated androids being brought to the medical wing, newly deviant androids being shown around the new haven, and android technicians on their way to their next patient. Nines' almost forgotten memories of Jericho were mostly kind, which was great news.

Simon seemed to have noticed Nines overcoming a wave of nostalgia as they entered the elevator.

"Glad to be back?" Simon asked, pressing the 5th floor button.

"It's been a while, that's for sure." Nines muttered, fiddling with his jacket sleeves.

"You can always come visit us, y'know. I'm sure North would love to see you again." Simon said and Nines smiled. North had been the first one to gain Nines trust, for some reason, and she had been a wonderful ally in his journey of deviancy.

"I'd love to see her, but I'm afraid she'd be no use to me today." Nines' expression changed back to its neutral.

"Guess you never kicked that non-deviant talk, huh?" Simon smiled at the taller android.

"My programming takes over sometimes." Nines shrugged. As the elevator doors opened, more memories came back to Nines, causing his neutral expression to turn back into a smile.

As Simon led Nines down the hallway, they passed plenty of doors. Nines knew that behind every door was a newly deviant android, taking in their new environment. How'd he know? That had been him at one point. It was crazy to be on the outside of the rooms, when he had been inside just a month ago.

Nines had been inside Simon's office before, but it had been upgraded since he was last there. It still had the bookcases framing the window, the large soft rug in the middle, and the familiar scent of cinnamon. It made Nines feel more at home that at his own house. Of course, the new additions of a basket of children's toys and potted plants added to the homey feeling.

"Take a seat and we'll start." Simon said gently, closing the door as Nines stepped in. Nines sat down on the couch opposite Simon's chair, and oh boy did it bring back memories.

Simon sat across from Nines. Déjà vu much?

"So Nines, how have you been?" Simon asked. "How's the DPD treating you?"

"I've been good, my partner Detective Reed is starting to warm up to me. I believe we're getting into friendly territory and Officer Miller has told me that I'm lucky I haven't been mauled yet." Nines explained. "Connor and Lieutenant Anderson have also been a good help. I'm glad to have.... family? I think we're family. I'm glad to have them so close by."

"That's wonderful!" Simon smiled. He smiled more than Nines remembered. "So, what exactly did you feel like talking about today?"

"Well," Nines sighed. "As I said, I'm getting closer to my partner, Detective Reed, but I have a feeling that he might have caused me to malfunction somehow." Simon's expression moved to confusion.

"How?" He questioned.

"Whenever he laughs, smiles, or does pretty much any sort of kind gesture towards me, I get this weird feeling around my metaphorical stomach." Nines explained. "I have a hunch that I need to see Josh about it but, I came to you first because Officer Chen thought it was feeling-based." Simon paused, taking in Nines' explanation. The blonde gave a small breath of a laugh.

"What does this 'weird feeling in your metaphorical stomach' feel like?" Simon asked with a small grin.

"It feels as though dozens of small...creatures...butterflies maybe! It feels as though there's dozens of them fluttering around whenever Detective Reed speaks." Nines huffed. "I don't know what it is, but I just want it to go away." Simon gave a sweet smile at the android in-front of him.

"Nines, this weird feeling that you're experiencing? That is completely feelings based." Simon said. "You have no need to go to Josh. There's nothing wrong with you."

"Then what am I feeling?" Nines questioned. "I've felt pretty much every emotion at this point!"

"Obviously you haven't." Simon pointed out. "It's funny you say butterflies are fluttering around in your stomach. That's a human expression whenever their around someone they love."

"But I....love.... Connor and Lieutenant Anderson. I don't get the butterflies whenever I'm with them." Nines replied.

"That's because you feel Familial Love towards them. You love them as Family." Simon explained. "You also love your friends, right?" Nines nodded. "That's Platonic or Friendly Love."

"Then what about Detective Reed? We're friends!" Nines exclaimed.

"The love you seem to experience with Detective Reed is Romantic Love." Simon stated simply. Nines froze.

Romance??? Seriously!? No way could Simon be right.

"That's....crazy. I don't have any romantic feelings for Detective Reed!" Nines said, perplexed.

"That's what you're head is saying, but your heart says otherwise." Simon replied.

"Do I need a new heart to make it go away??" Nines asked, eagerly.

"Nines, I'm not going to let you get a new biocomponent just because you're experiencing something completely normal!" Simon exclaimed.

"It's... _normal_??" Nines puzzled.

"Of course! Love in all shapes is normal!" Simon smiled. "The patient that had to cancel? She's on a date right now! She told me that she's getting that butterfly feeling in her metaphorical stomach. You're not alone Nines."

Nines looked to the floor. Tina was right?? He had a 'crush' on Detective Reed?

"How...can I make it go away then?" Nines asked.

"By perusing what your heart wants. And it seems yours wants your work partner to be more than a work partner." Simon replied.

"But how would I do that?? The last romantic relationship Detective Reed was in ended in disaster!" Nines ran his hands across his face. "I'm afraid that if I try anything, Detective Reed might hate me for it..."

"You're not his ex though." Simon pointed out. "You've known and worked with each other for a month so far, and you two seem to like the other." Simon leaned forward and lowered his voice. "I say you should just take it slow, and let Gavin decide what do to. You can be the front passenger in your relationship while Gavin can be the driver. Gavin has control of where it's going but you can give valid input."

"A car analogy seems pretty odd." Nines commented.

"Well it seems like in Gavin's previous relationship, he was in the backseat while his partner had the wheel. Giving Gavin the wheel while you stay next to him would help him grow more confident in giving romance a shot again." Simon's soft expression put Nines more at ease.

"So, I let Gavin have control in hopes he realizes how I feel?" Nines questioned.

"Try and push him in the right direction. Subtly let him know that you like him in a different way." Simon suggested. "Once he picks it up, he might talk to you about it.”

"Okay." Nines nodded.

"Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?" Simon asked. Nines considered anything else. He could continue on his feelings, maybe move to a different topic...

"No, I think I'm okay." is what Nines settled on.

"Alright, well, I need to prepare for my next patient." Simon smiled standing from his chair. "You know the way out, but please, stay around as long as you'd like! I'm sure North is around here somewhere!"

"I'd love to look around the seven floors for North, but I should be getting back to the precinct. I may have clocked out early, but I could still get a bit of work done before Captain Fowler tells me to leave." Nines smiled. Simon gave a nod of understanding. Nines gave a wave of goodbye before leaving the office.

Nines spent the elevator ride, walk out of New Jericho, and walk back to the precinct thinking about Simons advice. The car analogy still seemed pretty weird to him, but it made sense. The slight breeze made Nines remember that October was in a few weeks. Nines hadn't experienced fall yet, but from what the officers at the precinct had said, the throughly enjoyed it.

Speaking of fall, he had learned that Gavin's birthday was in the fall. Well, most likely in October. He could ask, but Gavin wanted to be left alone. Nines respected his wishes, and instead sent a text. It wasn't violating his personal space, and he never said that he couldn't text him! Nines had gotten better at finding loopholes.

' _Officer Chen said that your birthday was before the anniversary. When would your birthday happen to be?_ ' is the text that he sent. A few minutes later, Gavin replied.

' _if ur thinking about throwing me a party, don't bother,,, im going to my half-brother’s house for my birthday_ '

The way Gavin referred to his family before, it seemed like he didn't enjoy their company...

' _I was under the impression you disliked your family. I appear to be wrong._ '

' _oh no, u were right. it's just the least i could do since i didn't see him in-person on his b-day. he's also my only family member i haven't cut off since he's the only one that lives here._ '

Nines wanted to ask for his brother's name but that seemed a little selfish? Attempting to see who Gavin was going to hang out instead of him? Little creepy actually. Gavin must have noticed that he took longer to respond.

' _u want to be all creepy and ask for his name don't u?_ '

' _How did you figure me out so easily?_ '

‘ _lmao whenever u have a weird question u go quiet for minute_ '

Had Gavin really noticed that?

' _anyway, dunno if you'd actually want to know who he is,,,he's done a lot of shit_ '

' _Bad things?_ '

' _haha no,, well actually depends on who you ask. but to me it's alright stuff. nothing illegal_ '

So Gavin wasn't related to a criminal. That's nice.

' _Well then it shouldn't be a problem telling me. I can handle it._ '

' _ok_ '

Gavin sent a picture. Nines moved off to the inner edge of the sidewalk so he wouldn't bump into any passerby's. Nines pulled up the image in his view and almost choked.

The image was a selfie taken from Gavin's phone, obviously, and it seemed to be taken a while ago seeing as the background was bright and sunny, and it was quite cloudy as of recent. Gavin was in the front of the picture, his nose and cheeks sunburned. It seemed like he just got back from a day at the beach or something. The other subject was more surprising.

 _Elijah Kamski_? The creator of androids, was standing in a picture with a Detective who hated androids?

Kamski was also slightly sunburned, but a bottle of aloe vera in his hand. The longer Nines looked between the two, the more Nines realized that they did look quite alike.

' _probs not who you were expecting? also sorry that pictures from a few years ago,,, haven't gotten a picture with him for a while_ ’

' _How are you related to Elijah Kamski? You hate androids._ '

' _first of all, *hated, second of all had the same dad. he was dumb and had an affair with his wife's sister. she was my mom and his wife was eli's mom. our family trees fuckin wack, bc not only is he my half-brother but also my cousin_ '

' _That is quite weird._ '

' _yeah,, neither of us like him haha_ '

' _I see the similarities between you two though._ '

' _yeah,, i think connor said something about us looking similar but he never considered us to be related. dunno didn't pay attention to what he was saying lmao_ '

' _I wouldn't had considered it if I was him, to be fair._ '

' _haha that's probably a lie tbh. anyway gtg, turnip won't stop yelling at me that tiny bitch_ '

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> north and nines would be friends and you CANNOT change my mind
> 
> also,, was seriously debating making a flashback in this chapter but it didn’t fit anywhere. maybe i’ll make a mini-prequel that showcases nines when he woke up??? dunno yet


	23. Promotions and Demotions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines freaks out about being called Gavin's "friend" while Tina's getting a promotion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter contains :
> 
> -tina  
> -more ‘nines asking gavin questions’  
> -nines having a feelings crisis  
> -connor being stupid  
> -and a bit of sumo :)

Natalie's case was easy to solve once Gavin forgot about the whole ex-boyfriend is the Pikeman's gardener thing. In fact, the murderer was exactly the person they thought it was. Sam, Natalie's "friend" had invited her to hang out but killed and shot her. He was arrested for murder, and his friends Isabelle and Ben were arrested for helping. It was about a week after the Lieutenant's Birthday when Tina came running up to Gavin and Nines' desk, seemingly very excited about something.

"Gav!! Nines!! I got some super big news!!!" Tina was bouncing on her toes.

"What's up T?" Gavin asked looking up at his friend. Nines turned his attention to the officer as well.

"Fowler's letting me take the Detective Test thing!" Tina squealed.

"Oh my god!!" Gavin grinned, standing from his chair. "Tina, that's awesome!!"

"I know right?!" Tina continued to bounce up and down on her toes. How so much energy could be fit into a 5'4 to-be-detective was a mystery. "I'm gonna do the test this Friday, and I'm freaking out!!"

"Congratulations Officer Chen." Nines smiled.

"Soon, It'll be Detective Chen!" Tina exclaimed.

"Confident you'll pass?" Gavin laughed, arms crossed.

"Positive." Tina replied. "Have any advice?"

"Pay attention." Gavin replied. "Most important part of the whole test is you're observant and pay attention to all the information given."

"Okay, okay." Tina nodded. "I'll be sure to remember that." The officer walked over and gave Gavin a quick hug. "I'm gonna be a Detective this weekend!"

The officer bounded off to the break room, probably to announce her achievement to her other friends. Gavin sat back down in his seat, watching as Tina exclaimed to the other officers.

"I never got to do the Detective's test. What was it like?" Nines asked.

"Pretty simple. You gotta know all the investigation procedures and laws related to the police force." Gavin replied, shifting his chair back and forth. "You also gotta write a complete and concise report to judge if you'd be able to actually finish cases."

"Were you as excited as Officer Chen when you were allowed to take the test?" Nines questioned.

"I guess. I was super nervous but I was pretty excited too." Gavin reminisced.

"Do you think you'd like to be promoted to Sergeant soon?" Nines asked. Gavin gave a look of consideration.

"Maybe. I think it'd be cool, but from what I heard from Anderson, it gets pretty boring sometimes. I think I'll stick with Detective for now." Gavin decided. "What about you? You think you'd be a good Sergeant?"

"I think so. However, I don't think I'd be promoted any time soon." Nines said.

"Good point."

"Who's the current Sergeant?" Nines wondered. "I don't think I've heard anyone mention them."

"She's always out and about, and barley anyone talks to her. We just kinda let her do her thing." Gavin shrugged. He turned back to his terminal and resumed work. However, Nines decided he wasn't done with questions.

"Unrelated to what we were talking about before, but you're spending your birthday at your half-brother's house, yes?" Nines questioned.

"Yup." Gavin confirmed.

"Not only did you say you disliked him, but he is Elijah Kamski. Not a popular name among androids. Android Detectives, specifically." Nines affirmed.

"One, I wasn't joking. Don't like him at all. I  
He just invited me over for my birthday, and I felt bad for not being there for his, so I had to accept." Gavin explained. "Two, I know he sucks. Eli's not the most popular in my half of the family either. _His_ half however, god do his parents _adore_ him. It's gross."

"That's understandable...I think?" Nines muttered. Gavin gave a small laugh.

"Yeah, I see the confusion." Gavin shrugged. Nines paused and watched Gavin type. It seems Simon was right. He was romantically attracted to Gavin. That was so weird to think about... but the more he looked at his partner, the more it made sense.

"Could I...." Nines paused again, hesitant to finish his sentence.

"Hm?" Gavin hummed.

"Nevermind, It's not important." Nines waved it off, but Gavin wasn't going to take that as a reply.

"No, that sounded like a question. You're free to ask questions Nines." Gavin said, his attention now on his partner.

"I said it wasn't important." Nines repeated.

"And? I want to hear your unimportant questions too!" Gavin pushed. "Just tell me!"

"Okay!!" Nines gave in, holding his hands out in surrender. "I was going to ask if I could possibly go with you to your half-brothers home to celebrate your birthday. It was stupid, so I didn't ask." Nines put his attention back on his computer but Gavin leaned over and placed a hand on his wrist.

"Nines," Gavin said, surprisingly sincere. "None of your questions are stupid to me. Of _course_ you can come with me. I'd love to have you there. I mean, we're friends after all!" The usage of "friends" made Nines' whole body ache.

Were they just friends?? Was Nines overthinking his feelings?? This whole romantic feelings thing was horrible!

"Let's get back to work though, we have a few more cases to go through before we even think about my birthday." Gavin giggled, putting his attention back to the computer.

The place were Gavin's hand was left Nines' artificial skin cold. Was he really wanting attention that much? Still, the way Gavin used the word "friend" hurt. Maybe Nines wouldn't have the chance, maybe he'd stay friends and forever be aching...

That wasn't a nice thing to think about, but it was a possibility. Nines and Gavin would either stay friends, hate each other, or (the best outcome) fall in love. It sounded cheesy, but in all honestly it's what Nines wanted.

Emotions are complicated, and having only been alive for a few months left him in distress when a new one came along.

Maybe he should call North. She'd help him out.

———

"He said you were his friend, and you're worked up over that?" Connor questioned. Nines gave a reluctant nod, scratching Sumo behind his ears.

Instead of heading to North, who'd make fun of him for having a crush, he went to Connor, who'd actually give him help. Nines wanted actual advice, not playful banter. Connor agreed to talk back at his house while the Lieutenant worked overtime.

"What's the big deal? I thought you guys were friends?" Connor puzzled. Ah. Nines must have not directly told him. Connor gasped. "You're not quitting being a Detective are you??"

"What? No! Why would I do that?" Nines stared at Connor, confused. His brother shrugged.

"I dunno! You're a very mysterious person Nines." Connor admitted. Nines nodded he had to agree with that. "So why are you upset about Detective Reed calling you a friend? I'd _kill_ to have _his_ trust." Connor gave a laugh.

"Well..." Nines trailed off, turning his attention to the Saint Bernard head on his lap. "I seem to have romantic feelings for Gavin-"

"ROMANTIC FEELINGS??" Connor yelped, jumping off the couch. "FOR REED??"

"Yes? I swore I told you?" Nines puzzled.

"You did, but I thought you were over that!!" Connor had an excited smile on his face. "My little brother really does have a crush!" The RK800 ran around the living room like an immature child.

"Connor, this is serious!" Nines exclaimed.

"I know but," Connor let out a girlish squeal. "I'm so excited!! You're really becoming less machine and more human!!"

"Connor please sit down." Nines requested. Connor walked back to the couch, attempting to control his excitement. "I'm actually worried. Simon said to take it slow, but Gavin believes we're friends. It feels like someone took my metaphorical heart and stepped on it!"

"Well..." Connor muttered, thinking of an appropriate response. "Maybe you should just tell him how you feel! From what I heard that works! Most of the time..."

"And potentially embarrass myself? No way." Nines hissed. Connor gave a small smile. "What?"

"It's just, you're experiencing so many emotions and I'm so proud!" Connor let out a little giggle as Nines stared at him, very annoyed.

"I didn't come here to talk about my emotions. I came here to talk about why my metaphorical heart feels like it's been crushed under a combat boot." Nines leaned back on the couch and let out an annoyed groan. "What's the point, it's not like he'll feel the same..."

"Hey! Who ever said that?" Connor asked.

"My Handler and Gavin himself." Nines replied, glancing at Connor.

"Don't listen to either of them! Actually, maybe listen to Gavin..." Connor paused before shaking his head. "I have horrible relationship advice, stop listening to me."

"I might." Nines replied.

"Do." Connor laughed. "I have horrible romance experience!"

"Do you _have_ any?" Nines smiled.

"Not good experience...that's for sure..." Connor awkwardly chuckled.

"Hm. Maybe I should have gone to North." Nines considered.

"And get made fun of for liking someone?" Connor questioned, faking shock.

"At least North has good romance experience!" Nines pushed Connors shoulder, sending him back to his corner of the couch.

"She was just a bad love interest for Markus. I wouldn't say that was a _good_ experience." Connor admitted.

"Yeah? Well you have bad judgment Mr. 'I don't have any good romance experience'." Nines nudged Sumo's head off his lap and stood, attempting to brush dog hair off his pants.

"You're not actually going to see North, are you?" Connor questioned. "I always thought she was a horrible influence on you. I mean, she tried to get you to skydive off the Jericho building."

"First of all, I'm very glad I didn't follow through with that skydiving idea, I definitely would have died." Nines said, throwing his CyberLife jacket over his shoulder. "Second of all, I'm going home. I have a lot to think about right now."

"You can do thinking here! I've barley seen you since Hank's birthday!" Connor whined.

"The lieutenants birthday was last week, you're free to visit me, and I don't want to spend weeks trying to get dog hair out of my clothing." Nines walked to the door, leaving Connor on the couch. "You're puppy dog eyes don't work on me." He called, opening the door.

"Dang." Connor snapped his fingers in defeat. "See you tomorrow Nines!" Connor waved.

"Bye Connor." Nines gave a smile before leaving the house. As soon as he stepped off the porch, his head flowed with thoughts.

Should be confess his feelings so soon? Would Gavin hate him if he did? Would Gavin publicly embarrass him if he did? God, he felt like he was demoted from 'Possible Love-Interest' to 'Main Character's Friend'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love reading y’all’s comments lmao  
> i might start replying but idk :0


	24. Phone Calls and Text Messages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin freaks out about his best friend being promoted while Elijah's preparing for his brother's birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it is almost 1am where i am rn,, but it’s technically wednesday so here you go :)
> 
> while nines is still crying over being friend-zoned, gavins havin a good time

It was Sunday. Gavin was anxiously staring at his phone's home screen. Turnip sat next to him on the couch, watching Bobo stare out the balcony door. Gavin was biting at his nails ( _damn he really need to stop that_ ) waiting for a text from Tina. Knowing how fast technology and testing had gotten, she should have gotten her results today. She promised Gavin that she'd tell him if she made it.

The Detective's leg bounced, making a soft thumping sound on the carpet. He knew Tina would get the promotion, she's an amazing officer and would make an even better detective! Even Nines had agreed that Tina's chances are above 70%! The silence of Gavin's apartment was deafening. He hated it.

Suddenly, Gavin' phone began buzzing. He lit up thinking it was a call from Tina, only to read the caller ID and frown. He begrudgingly accepted the call.

"What do you want?" Gavin grumbled.

" _Not a Hello this time?_ " Eli scoffed. " _Why am I not surprised?_ "

"Answer my question." Gavin hissed. "I have shit to do." He could hear Elijah's eye roll.

" _I was just calling to make sure you're serious about coming to my house to celebrate your birthday._ " He explained. " _You never really liked me, so it's pretty suspicious that you'd be willing to visit me for your birthday._ "

"Yeah, I know. I still don't like you." Gavin replied. "I'm only doing this because I feel bad for not seeing you on your birthday. Don't take it too serious."

" _I already have Gav. You know that_."

"Right, you're a nerd. How could I forget!" Gavin's sentence bled sarcasm. Eli could probably feel his sarcastic aura through the phone.

" _Anyway, the Chloe's are all excited to see you again. They haven't seen you in forever._ " Eli admitted. A small smile flickered on Gavin's face. He never liked Eli, but the Chloes were always cool to see.

"Speaking of androids, I'm bringing Nines." Gavin said. "He asked to come, so I'm bringing him."

" _Nines?_ " Eli questioned.

"He's an RK900. My partner." Gavin added.

" _Ah! RK900! I didn't have anything to do with his programming other than the base._ " Eli commented. " _There was only one created, right?_ "

"Yeah, he was alone. He's got a family now though." Gavin said, glancing at his silver cat that stared at the birds on the balcony railing.

" _What family?_ "

"Lieutenant Anderson and Connor. Or, I guess Detective Anderson."

" _Oh? Interesting._ " Eli murmured. " _So RK900 is joining us?_ "

"Nines, and yeah. Is that a problem for you? Nerd?" Gavin questioned.

" _Not at all!_ " Eli exclaimed. " _In fact, I'd love to meet him! I want to know how they programmed the RKs after I left._ "

"He's not just plastic and code asshole." Gavin hissed.

" _I know, I know, but I'm interested to see what he's like._ " Elijah seemed to be lost in thought. " _If the Anti-Deviancy programs they tested actually did anything._ "

"He's not gonna let you poke around his programming." Gavin shot.

" _I know!! I'm just curious._ "

"Okay. Well I'll talk to you later. I'm expecting a call from Tina soon." As soon as Gavin finished his sentence he hung up. Gavin sighed and placed his phone down on the couch. He looked down and scratched Turnip behind her ears. As the feline purred, Freyja made her way back into Gavin's mind.

"I wonder if you and Bobo miss Freyja." Gavin wondered with a sorrowful smile. "Hell knows I do..."

Bobo seemed to have noticed the attention Gavin was giving Turnip and decided he wanted some. The Egyptian Mau jumped onto the couch and head butted Gavin's leg with a meow.

"Sup' Attention Whore?" Gavin greeted, petting Bobo with his other hand.

A few minutes passed of Gavin petting Bobo and Turnip. It was peaceful, sweet. Then, Gavin's phone started buzzing again. He snatched his phone and immediately picked up when he saw it was Tina.

"Tina!!" Gavin exclaimed. "Did you pass?" The line was silent for a second before a loud squeal came from Tina's line.

" _I DID IT!!_ " She yelped in victory.

"YES!!" Gavin cheered, jumping up from the couch. "Congrats Tina!! You fuckin' deserve this."

" _Yeah I do!_ " Tina laughed. " _God, tomorrow's my first day as a Detective. This is so cool!!_ "

"It is!! Now we gotta wait for Chris." Gavin hummed.

" _That might be a while._ " Tina giggled. " _He seems pretty comfortable as an officer._ "

"Yeah, but he'd make a great Detective." Gavin admitted, sitting back down on the couch.

" _I'm gonna call my parents and tell them about this! Talk to you soon Gav!_ " Tina hung up the phone.

Gavin put his phone down on the coffee table and sat back down on the couch. Bobo immediately crawled up onto his lap and meowed for pats.

"You're annoying." Gavin said at the cat, petting its silver fur. Bobo meowed in return.

Turnip must have run off towards her food bowl because she entered the living room at the sound of Bobo's meow.

"Tina better have told Valerie first..." Gavin murmured to himself. "Valerie's her girlfriend for christ's sake." Turnip gave a meow at her owner. "Yeah, I know I'm Tina's best friend. Maybe that does mean something."

Now that Tina had successfully been promoted, a wave of peace washed over Gavin. Of course, his anxieties and all that bullshit was still there, but he felt calmer now that Tina was on the same level as him. He wouldn't have to worry about her as much as he normally did. Gavin reached for his phone, which caused Bobo to retreat to the floor. Gavin opened his phone and went straight to his contacts.

His life was moving on. No need to dwell on the past. The notification appeared on his screen.

_'Are you sure you would like to block ' **bitch (don't talk 2 him)** '?'_

Gavin clicked ' _Yes_ '. The next notification popped up.

_'Are you sure you would like to delete this number?'_

Gavin tapped ' _Yes_ ' again. He was gone. No dwelling on that asshole ever again. Gavin moved to his messages and went to the group chat that consisted of him, Tina, and Chris.

" _I deleted Nate's number_ " is what Gavin managed to text.

" _huh????? omg !!!!_ " Tina messaged.

" _did u block it??_ " Chris added.

" _yeah_ " Gavin replied with a smile. " _he's gone :)_ "

" _YAY GAVIN!!!_ " Tina cheered.

" _so proud of you buddy :')_ " Gavin knew that Chris was genuine.

" _looks like we've all got something awesome going on today !!!_ " Tina exclaimed.

" _rlly? what's going on chris?_ " Gavin asked.

" _lmao my mom sent a package for Damien_ " Chris said. " _he freakin loved it, it was full of chocolate and toys. absolutely adorable !!_ "

" _haha that is adorable_ " Gavin said. " _tell damien i said hi_ "

" _i gtg and prepare for detective stuff >:) ,,, see y'all later !_" Tina texted.

" _damien says hi back, and have fun tina !_ " Chris responded.

" _cya T_ " is what Gavin messaged before standing and heading for his bedroom. After plugging in his phone, Gavin flopped down on his bed. He let the softness of his sheets and blankets bury him.

Life was moving on. He would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TINA GOT THAT PROMOTION BAYBEE !!!! WHAT A WOMAN !!!  
> ALSO THE WICKED BITCH IS GONE (i hated nathan from the moment i decided he existed so this is great)


	25. The Prince of Party City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin, Nines, Tina, Chris, and Valarie go to Party City for a pre-birthday celebration. Nines' programs are bugging.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes you read that title right the main setting of this chapter is a party city. if you’ve never been inside/heard of a party city it’s basically a party store lmao
> 
> OKAY HERE WE GO ! :)

"There's no use anymore." The Zen Garden had a light drizzle coming down, and Nines' handler wasn't in a good mood.

"I can still try, there's nothing stopping me." Nines frowned.

"Except the 41% chance that you'll fail." Gavin said, twirling a blue rose between his fingers.

"That leaves a 59% chance of success!" Nines retaliated.

"It's pretty 50/50 if you ask me." Gavin rolled his eyes. "The real Gavin said himself that you're just his friend."

"I know, but..." Nines trailed off, and Gavin stared at him with a raised brow.

"But?" He promoted. Nines let out an annoyed huff.

"I still have a chance. You're making this too hard." Nines left his Zen Garden.

———

Tina's car smelled a lot nicer than Gavin's. Tina's smelt like a Febreze commercial while Gavin's smelt like a Gas Station. It fit their personalities well.

Nines was sitting in the back of Tina's car, with Chris on the other side and Gavin in the middle. It made sense to put the smallest passenger (who wasn't the owner of the car) in the middle, but it didn't make sense to put the tallest passenger in the back. That's at least what Nines thought.

He was about six feet tall, yet Valerie got the most spacious passenger seat. Then again, Tina probably wanted to sit next to her girlfriend so maybe it did make sense.

As Nines exited his Zen Garden, his LED flickered to blue. The android looked out the window to find them at a stoplight, somewhere in the suburban area. Tina was waiting for a man and his two dogs to pass.

"Look at those babies!!" Valerie cooed, staring at the dogs trotting in front of their owner. "So cute!"

"I prefer cats." Gavin snickered, earning a joking glare from the android up front.

"I'll second Gavin's statement." Nines commented, still gazing out the window.

"Wait, really?" Tina asked, confused. "I always assumed you preferred dogs. Y'know, Connor being your brother and all."

"That's what most people think," Nines tore his eyes away from the pale yellow house next to them. "but dogs take so much work."

"Agreed." Gavin piped. "Tina had a puppy back in High School, and it was the most annoying thing."

"Hey! Excuse you, but Pickle was an amazing dog!" Tina exclaimed as the stoplight turned green. "You just have shit opinions."

"Gavin's like a cat. All he does is eat, sleep, and be an asshole." Chris added as Tina continued driving.

"Thank you!" Gavin replied, gratefully. Nines could feel the eye rolls Tina and Valerie gave. After a few minutes, Gavin decided to ask a question, "So, where are we going?". Nines then realized that he had no idea where they were going either. It seemed only Valerie and Tina knew since Chris perked up to listen.

"Well, since you're going to your brothers for your birthday, we thought why not celebrate it with us early?" Valerie said as Tina's car pulled into a parking lot. Nines, Gavin, and Chris all leaned in their seats to get a good glance of where they were. Gavin let out an excited gasp.

"OH MY GOD, SERIOUSLY??" Gavin squealed. Nines' expression changed to confusion as Gavin beamed at a Party City Store. Once the car was parked, Tina, Chris, and Gavin all got out of the car.

"I don't get it either." Valerie said, turning to Nines. "When we were planning this I thought a restaurant or something would be more appropriate, but apparently a Party City was more appropriate for Gavin specifically." Valerie got out of the car and Nines followed. As Tina locked her vehicle, Gavin was bouncing on his toes. The Detective seemed a little old to be excited about a party store, but Nines wouldn't judge.

"Let's go!" Tina announced. Gavin immediately grabbed Chris' arm and ran towards the store, pulling his friend with him.

"I don't understand. Are we purchasing decorations for a party?" Nines questioned.

"No." Tina stated. "Back in High School, me and Gavin used to go to a Party City for his birthday every year just to fuck around and have fun. We haven't done that since we moved here to Detroit, so why not?"

"Hm." Nines hummed, watching Gavin pull Chris into the store.

"Val suggested a restaurant, but Gavin hates fancy places and the last time he went to an Olive Garden he got a plate smashed on his head." Tina explained.

"A plate?? What happened??" Nines worried. He hadn't heard of that story before!

"Tina, they have the scarfs!!" Gavin yelped, as they entered the store.

"Really?" Tina exclaimed, dashing towards the aisle Gavin was in. Valerie gave a polite wave to the two cashiers watching two adults get exited over a feather boa.

"From what Tina told me, they used to spend hours messing around and having fun." Valerie said, leading Nines to the aisle where their humans were. "We could be here a while."

"Nines!" Gavin yelped. The RK900's attention was immediately moved to his partner. The Detective draped black fabric around Nines's shoulders, the android realizing it was a cape. "Jesus, you're so goddamn tall it doesn't fit right!" Gavin laughed. Nines gave a small smile as Gavin ran back down the aisle like an excited child.

"Val, how do I look?" Tina asked. Valerie gave a laugh, her LED a happy bright blue. Tina had a silver plastic tiara on with a hideous pink feather boa around her shoulders.

"You look great." Valerie giggled, giving Tina a kiss on the cheek. Nines' metaphorical stomach churned at their affection. He wished......

———

"What isn't going through your dense ass skull?" Gavin hissed. Nines pulled the blue rose out of his handler's hand.

"Stop." Nines growled.

"I'm your handler, I don't have to listen to you tin-can." Gavin replied, glaring at the android.

"You're not understanding my feelings." Nines explained. "You're my handler, you're supposed to understand."

"You were never supposed to have feelings." Gavin hummed, leaning against the trellis covered in roses behind him. Nines' expression softened.

"Are you acting this way because of the Anti-Deviancy programs that are still present in my code?" Nines questioned.

"Bingo! Finally figured it out!" Gavin exclaimed. Nines stared at the flower in his hands.

"How can I fix this?" Nines asked, clutching the blue rose tightly.

"Beats me." Gavin shrugged.

———

"Nines?" The RK900 was snapped out of his thoughts by the real Gavin. "You're light thingy is yellow, you good?"

"I'm fine." Nines assured, willing his LED to return to blue. He observed what happened while he was in the Zen Garden. Tina and Valerie had went off to find Chris only for him to appear next to Gavin a few seconds later.

"Okay, good." Gavin turned away, walking back over to Chris who had a temporary hair coloring can in his hand. Nines gave a sigh, and removed the black cape that was still around his shoulders. Gavin was right, it was far too short to fit him right. Nines walked over to Gavin and draped the cape on his shoulders instead.

"I'm going to step outside for a minute." Nines said.

"Are you okay?" Chris asked.

"I'm fine, I just need some...air." Nines gave a weak smile before walking out of the aisle. He knew Gavin and Chris exchanged concerned looks. The automatic doors slid open and Nines stepped outside. A cold breeze blew past right as he stepped out.

Nines dug inside his code, searching for what he was worried about. However, once he found it he gave a frown. All the disabled deviancy programs that had been put in his code were locked. He couldn't remove them himself. He needed a technician to do it for him...

Nines opened his eyes as another breeze passed by. Fall was here, and Nines had a mixed opinion so far. On one hand, the changing of the seasons was beautiful. On the other hand, the influx of holidays was a little much.

"Nines?" Nines turned and saw Valerie standing at the Party City entrance. "Are you okay? Gavin's pretty worried about you right now." Nines turned his attention back to the open sky, stars beginning to appear in the darkness.

"I'm okay." Nines replied.

"Are you?" Valerie moved to stand next to Nines, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"I....don't know." He admitted. "So much is going on right now, it's suffocating."

"Do you want to leave? I can take you home." Valerie offered.

"No, no, you don't need to. I don't want to ruin anything." Nines dismissed.

"You're not going to ruin anything by leaving." Valerie assured, giving Nines a soft smile. Like on cue, all three humans exited the store behind them just as she said that, Tina holding two plastic bags.

"You're leaving?" Gavin asked. Nines turned around, attempting to read Gavin's expression. He couldn't read it.

"I...might." Nines sighed.

"We were going to head to a drive-thru to get some food, we can drop you off on our way." Tina suggested. Nines' eyes danced between the four people staring at him.

"Okay." He muttered. Valerie led the way out to Tina's car. Tina let Gavin hold the shopping bags as they got inside the car. It was the same formation as before, but Nines was far more tense.

The car ride to Nines' apartment was completely silent, other than the soft music coming from the speaker. Nines stared out the window the whole ride, noting every single road sign they passed. Once they arrived at his complex, Nines quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door to leave.

"Wait!" Gavin exclaimed, before Nines could close the car door. The android watched as Gavin dug through one of the plastic bags. After a second or two, he pulled out a headband. "Here, I bought this for you. It's stupid, I know."

Nines took the headband. It looked completely ridiculous. It had a small crown that was obviously off-center (it must have been on purpose!), and the whole thing was covered in gold glitter. It was very stupid.

Nines loved it.

"Thank you." Nines said, with a small but genuine smile. "It is stupid, but I like it." Nines noticed Gavin's ears go slightly pink as he smiled back.

He saw Chris, Tina, and Valerie's smiles out of the corner of his eyes. He didn't even want to know what kind of endless teasing Gavin would get for this.

"See you at work tomorrow." Nines said before shutting the car door. The android walked away from the car, over to his apartment door. The headband held tightly in his hand.

It was a very stupid gift, and Nines would never wear it. However, he had no intention of throwing it away, ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nines i’m sorry baybe i gotta :(


	26. October, 2039

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines' hasn't gone into stasis since Party City. Gavin, Connor, and Hank are worried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m doing this instead of my school assignments anyway i don’t like this chapter mainly bc i see it as a whole lot of nothing,, but next chapter is definitely going to be better !!

Nines felt off for the rest of the week. Now that he was aware of why his handler was so moody about his feelings, it left a pit in his metaphorical stomach. In fact, he was so nervous about it that he had prevented going into stasis just to avoid the possibility of interacting with a malfunctioning AI. Sure, he could just delete it, but he didn't know what that'd cause to his code. So Nines avoided stasis (or in human terms, sleeping).

Since he didn't go into stasis, didn't have a charging port at his apartment yet, and he didn't have the energy to go to Jericho's at the moment, the android was left slow and "tired". He had scheduled an appointment with Josh to try and get rid of his deviancy programs, but even Josh had admitted that he didn't know if he could.

Very Reassuring.

Everyone noticed that Nines was slower than usual. He worked at a Police Department filled with Detectives, of course they noticed! Nines had originally wanted to stay home and do nothing all day, but he still had cases to solve. Unfortunately, most of his android-y functions had begun shutting down due to lack of power. He couldn't transfer information as fast, his motor functions were lagging, and every time he talked there was a possibility of static. Wonderful...

The few people who were noticeably concerned were The Anderson's and Gavin. Nines knew that Tina and Chris were confused on his odd behavior, but Connor, Hank, and Gavin actively gave a worried glance whenever he paused for no reason.

"'You doing okay Nines?" Gavin asked as Nines lagged while walking to the table he was standing at. The break room was mainly empty, other than two android officers chatting near the entrance.

"I'm fine." Nines assured, leaning against the surface. He wasn't, but Gavin didn't need to know that.

"Mm." Gavin hummed taking a sip of his coffee. He didn't seem to believe his partner, but he didn't say anything else. "Got any new info on Liam's Case?"

"Liam Ableton seemed to have been attacked by feral dogs before being shot in the chest." Nines replied.

"We knew that already, tin-can." Gavin laughed.

"Oh...Right. I forgot. Apologies." Nines hummed.

"You forgot? You never forget anything." Gavin noted. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"M'fine." Nines murmured, dragging a hand through his hair.

"If you say so..." Gavin shrugged, taking another sip. Nines held his head in his hands, elbows on the table. "Can androids get headaches?"

"Something like that..." Nines sighed. He didn't have a headache, it was more of an overload of information from his HUD. Aaand That was the moment when Nines' motor systems decided to crash.

Nines' knees gave out from under him, causing him to fall to the floor with a thud.

"Nines?!" Gavin yelped, slamming his cup down on the table. "Are you okay??" The Detective kneeled down next to his partner.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." Nines said, the slightest bit of static in his words.

"Yeah, no, I didn't believe you and I still don't. We gotta get you to, like, a technician or something before you pass out." Gavin looked up at the android officers who were curiously glancing over to their coworkers.

Nines hoped that he wasn't going to yell at them.

"Hey, one of you go get Detective Anderson!" Gavin yelled. The two officers nodded and quickly scurried off to the bullpen. "Can you stand?"

"My motor systems crashed, so not at the moment, no." Nines said. "Also, I can't 'pass out', I can shut down but not go unconscious like a human-"

"Yeah, yeah, blah blah techno babble I know!" Gavin snickered. The Detective shifted his position and brought his arms under Nines'. The android was honestly surprised when his human was able to lift him off the floor. Gavin pulled Nines into a sitting position against the wall with a grunt of annoyance. "Why are you so god damn heavy?"

"He's made of very dense plastic and has a bunch of metal inside him, of course he's heavy." Connor appeared in the entrance way of the break room. "What happened here?"

"His motor thingy crashed, apparently." Gavin said, hand on Nines' shoulder. He didn't know if Gavin was aware of it, but Nines didn't dare to point it out.

"What?" Connor questioned kneeling down to Nines' level on the floor. Nines noticed Lieutenant Anderson talking to one of the android officers who had ran off to get Connor (her name was Felicity?). "Nines, why did your motor systems crash?"

The RK900 opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a singular beep. Gavin let out a laugh before slapping his hand over his mouth to stop.

"Nines, when was the last time you went into stasis or recharged?" Connor questioned. Nines stared at his brother blankly. The room was silent other than the hushed giggles from Gavin. "Nines..."

Nines averted eye contact, his lips pushed into a thin line.

"Nines! How long ago did you last go into stasis??" Connor asked, clearly more worried.

"September 27th..." Nines managed to say.

"WHAT??" Connor yelped. "A WHOLE WEEK WITHOUT STASIS???" Nines gave a reluctant nod.

"A fuckin week??" Gavin worried. "Aren't you supposed to do it every night?? No wonder your crashing and lagging like you're on shit wifi!"

"God, you need to go home and recharge Nines..." Connor sighed, hands pressed into his temples, LED flickering yellow and red. A notification came up on Nines' HUD saying his motor systems were back online momentarily.

"I'll call a taxi." Lieutenant Anderson said, leaving the room.

"You fucking dumbass, you haven't slept since we fucked around at Party City!" Gavin scolded.

"Why were you at Party City?" Connor questioned.

"I _just_ said we were fucking around." Gavin hummed. Connor gave him an annoyed glare earning a small giggle out of Officer Felicity (Nines was starting to doubt that was her name).

"Seriously you fuckin' plastic prick!" Gavin snarled, quickly turning his attention back to Nines. "What's up with you not sleeping?!"

Nines didn't want to answer, and luckily he didn't need to as Lieutenant Anderson returned. That was fast, but then again, automatic taxi's have been getting faster.

"'Cab's here." The lieutenant announced.

"Detective Reed, could you help me take Nines out?" Connor questioned.

"I can walk." Nines pointed out.

"I know, but if we carried you, you wouldn't waste as much energy!" Connor explained. Nines gave an eye roll before Connor and Gavin both stood and grabbed Nines' arms. Connor draped Nines' left arm over his shoulders. Gavin did the same but with the right, adding extra support by wrapping one of his arms around Nines' waist. As Connor and Gavin practically dragged the taller android out of the precinct, Nines realized how warm humans actually were.

Sure, androids could adjust their heat sensors and make them feel warmer or colder but it wasn't the same. Gavin was warm, like comforting. Connor was warm, but that was the mechanical and artificial warm. Humans were so delicate and gentle, yet Gavin seemed so... not that. Delicate and Gentle weren't words used to describe Detective Reed. Then again, he had seen Reed after waking up in the middle of the night once, as well as crying about a late pet, and he seemed so vulnerable...

"Can you put in your address?" Connor asked as he and Gavin hoisted Nines into the back of the automated taxi.

"Yes, I'll be fine. You two get back to work." Nines said. The moment Gavin's humane warmth disappeared, Nines felt like he was dunked in ice.

"Go into stasis as soon as you arrive home!" Connor instructed before shutting the door. Nines inputted an address, but it wasn't his apartment's. If he was going to a secondary location, then he was going to Jericho to get these locked and glitchy inactive Anti-Deviancy Programs out of his head.

Once he inputted New Jericho's address, the taxi cab drove off. Nines was silent the whole time, his arms held tight around himself. He made sure to text Josh that he'd need help coming in, but all he did was stare outside the window. He counted 25 different humans and 13 different androids walking down the sidewalks. There was 9 different dogs, and he even saw an android cat.

By the time the taxi pulled up to New Jericho's entrance, Josh was standing outside, leaning on an empty wheelchair. The door slid open and Nines shuffled to get out.

"So your motor systems crashed?" Josh questioned, helping Nines to sit in the wheelchair. Nines hated not being able to do things for himself, but he would have collapsed already if he didn't have help...

"Correct. I haven't....I haven't gone into stasis or recharged for a week." Nines confirmed.

"Why?" Josh asked, pushing Nines into New Jericho as the taxi drove off.

"My handler was malfunctioning a bit, and I was worried that if I spent to much time around them then I'd break my code." Nines replied. Nines hated feeling this helpless in a wheelchair.

"I guess that makes sense, but do you have to see your handler every-time you recharge?" Josh asked, pushing Nines into an empty elevator.

"I'm a prototype, of course I do." Nines replied. "None of the things that happens there go to CyberLife, if you were wondering." Josh clicked the button to the 4th floor, where the technician rooms were. Their elevator ride was silent, Nines contributing to the uncomfortable air in the tiny area. As the elevator doors slid open, a wave of...bad nostalgia came over him.

Nines remembered being in this hallway at one point, and he didn't have a good time...

Josh wheeled Nines over to one of the empty rooms. It had an identical rig to the one Nines woke up in, but his was in room 252. This was room 273. Josh helped Nines get hooked up to the rig. He didn't hate the machine as much as he hated the hallway, but it definitely didn't make him comfortable. He was slowly lifted off the ground slightly, and Nines could feel Josh getting access to his code. Gross.

"Alright..." Josh muttered, standing at his computer. "Why are these even here still? Shouldn't they have self terminated?"

"Prototype." Nines reminded.

"Connor's and Markus' both self terminated though." Josh retorted.

"Oh..." Nines mumbled.

"Yours must have glitched or something..." Josh trailed off as he began using both his hands on the keyboard. Nines was about to ask what he was going to do, but he could feel Josh hacking into Nines' code.

It felt like a small tug inside his head. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't a pleasent sensation. Josh continued to work, making occasional glances up at Nines to make sure he wasn't in pain.

After about ten minutes of nothing happening, Nines felt a sharp pain in the back of his skull. He let out a pained groan, but Josh didn't glance up this time. He was focused on the screen. More minutes of silence passed. About 15 before another sharp pain sliced Nines' skull.

"Are you doing alright?" Josh questioned as Nines let out another painful whine.

"M'doing fine." Nines replied. "What is that?"

"I unlocked the programs. I deleted one of the programs, there's two left." Josh updated Nines.

30 more minutes, two more sharp pains, and two pain-filled groans from Nines later, Josh gave a triumphant hum. Josh pressed a button and Nines was released off the rig. His legs buckled from under him, but Josh caught him. The technician helped Nines back into the wheelchair before he began cleaning up the work station.

"So, I recommend rebooting your handler program so that it can refit into the new space." Josh suggested. "You should go home and immediately go into stasis. Either that or you can use a charging port here."

"I'll go home." Nines replied. Josh gave a nod, and wiped his hands on his jeans. The two androids left the technician room and entered the elevator. Nines felt the equivalent to a human being light headed. As Josh and Nines returned to the lobby, Nines received two texts from Gavin.

_'i don't know if you awake or not,, but you should totally come to my apartment before we go over to eli's because i have something i want to show you something'_

_'so like,,, come to my place on friday, i'll show you the thing, then we can go to eli's. k bye go to sleep if you're not already lmao'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was originally going to be a lot more dramatic (like, nines passed out and shit) but i hated it so i did this instead
> 
> also not me bullshitting more android stuff and having androids be able to wirelessly recharge when they go into stasis while simultaneously having charging ports exist 
> 
> ok bye i’m tired


	27. Gentle and Laughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines arrives at Gavin's house and Tina opens the door. Connor happened to give Gavin a really nice gift that Gavin wanted to show Nines.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who has a solid idea of where this plot is going? that’s right, it’s me, i finally know what i’m actually doing anyway here’s this

It was finally October 7th, the day of Gavin's birthday. Of course, Nines had gone into stasis and recharged during the days leading up to today. He didn't want to collapse when he was hanging out with his human! Gavin and Nines had taken the day off, mainly because there was no way that Gavin would want to work on his birth celebration.

Nines had taken an automated taxi to Gavin's apartment, as he had wanted to meet there first. The reason? Nines had no idea. As Nines walked to the staircase to Gavin's apartment, he spotted Detective Chen and Officer Miller's cars. Odd. They should be at work. Nines traveled up the stairs and down the familiar hallway to apartment 208. He'd only been here three or four times, yet it seemed like thousands.

Nines knocked on the door, the small box he had been holding stationed between his left arm and hip. Detective Chen opened the door.

"Hey Nines! Come on in!" Tina shuffled out of the way allowing Nines entrance into the small entryway.

"Where's Gavin?" Nines questioned.

"Living room. He was busy with the thing he wanted to show you." Tina explained, leading the android to the room. "Chris and Connor are here too." Nines' expression was puzzled but he followed the rookie detective.

When they entered the living room, Nines gave a quick scan around. Chris and Connor were chatting on the couch, Chris drinking a soda and Connor drinking out of an opaque and covered cup (assumingely filled with thirium, seeing as that was the only type of liquid androids could drink). Turnip was on the back of the couch, behind Connor, and Bobo was staring out the glass door that led to the balcony. Gavin was in sitting in the corner of the room, sitting next to the cat tree, a box in his lap. He was babbling nonsense at whatever was inside.

Connor and Chris gave waves to Nines, and he responded with a smile.

"Gav, Nines is here." Tina announced, seeing as Gavin didn't notice him when he walked in. The detective's head shot up and a smile immediately formed. That was sweet.

"Nines, come over here!" Gavin beckoned his partner over, turning his attention back to the box in his lap. Tina walked over to Bobo while Nines went to Gavin and crouched down.

"Is this the 'thing' you wanted to show me?" Nines asked.

"Yeah, look!" Gavin tilted the box so Nines could see what was inside. There was a soft looking blanket with a kitten. According to Nines' scan, the kitten was a two week old male Maine Coon.

Nines had assumed it was something Gavin was excited about, but a baby feline was not what he expected at all!

"Where did you get him??" Nines questioned, leaning in to get a closer look at the ball of fur.

"Your brother found him on the sidewalk half-dead. Connor took him to a veterinarian and he had no owner." Gavin explained.

"Me and Hank have Sumo. That dog would probably crush something that small, no matter how gentle he is. Plus, we both prefer dogs." Connor smiled. "I knew Detective Reed had one less cat, so I brought the kitten here a few days ago after he healed."

"That's very kind of you Connor." Nines replied. They both knew the RK800 was kind, but he needed to say something to fill the space. "Do you have a name for him?"

"I might." Gavin hummed, gently stroking his thumb across the feline's head. "He's pretty traumatized because of whatever happened to him. I can relate." Those last three words left everyone but Gavin in an awkward silence for a split second.

"Maybe you could name him Reed Jr. then." Tina joked.

"Pfft, no that's dumb." Gavin laughed. Tina and Gavin went back and forth, Tina saying random names and Gavin shooting every single one down. Connor and Chris gave occasional input or giggles. Nines didn't say anything in favor of staring at Gavin and the kitten. More specifically, Gavin being so gentle with one of the smallest mammals Nines had ever seen.

Maybe Gavin was gentle, but on special occasions. He might be a jerk at times, but he was a good guy if you gave him a chance. Nines felt so lucky to be able to see this side of Gavin. Connor should too, but this wasn't about him.

"Dewdrop?" Tina suggested.

"Nah. Tina, I already said I think I have a name for him!" Gavin said, tearing his eyes away from his new baby before returning them quickly.

"Okay, then what is it?" Tina questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Meeko." Gavin stated.

"Meeko?" Connor repeated.

"Meeko."

"I like that name." Nines commented, looking down at the ball of fur. It didn't even look like a kitten, more as a ball of yarn.

"Awesome. Meeko it is then!" Gavin smiled, giving the newly named tom a scratch on the head. The name fit the kitten, seeing as he was rather shy.

Gavin very carefully put his hand underneath Meeko, and lifted the kitten with little to no effort. Gavin held the tiny brown ball in his hands.

"You want to hold him Nines? You 'got big hands." Gavin offered.

"I don't know..." Nines murmured.

"You're not gonna hurt him." Gavin assured. Nines looked skeptically at his partner who returned the stare with a look that said 'I promise'.

"Okay..." Nines held out his hands, and Gavin slowly and carefully deposited the feline. Nines curled his fingers slightly, creating a barrier to prevent the kitten from falling. Meeko shifted a little and stared up at the android holding him. His eyes were an icy blue, almost identical to Nines'. Meeko was so small, soft, and sweet. Nines felt like if he moved an inch the cat would die instantly. He didn't want that.

"Is he okay?" Tina whispered to Connor.

"I don't think he's ever held anything that small, let alone seen." Connor whispered back.

Meeko and Nines stared at each other, neither of them moving a muscle. The only difference was that Meeko was breathing and Nines had stopped incase he breathed to hard on the kitten and hurt him. He didn't need to breathe anyway.

Gavin reached over and carefully picked Meeko back up, the feline replying with a tiny mewl. When the cat was back in his box, Nines dropped his hands on his legs and let out the breath he was holding.

"You looked so spooked, Nines!" Chris laughed.

"I didn't want to potentially harm Meeko." Nines replied.

"Breathing on him won't do anything." Tina smirked.

"What if I blew too much air into his nose, causing him to suffocate?" Nines retaliated. "Or if I blew too much air into his eyes, causing his eyes to dry up so much that he looses his sight."

"Neither of those things would happen, Nines." Connor pointed out.

"There was a 9% chance that they did."

"9% is practically nothing."

"It's still something."

"A very small something!"

"Okay, so you get to scold me for leaving 9% of my thirium unfinished but I cant use that same logic to justify me not breathing? Makes perfect sense."

"You two are annoying." Gavin interrupted, causing Chris and Tina to burst out in laughter. Connor gave Gavin an attempt at an angry glare but it was obvious he was holding back laughter himself. Gavin picked up Meeko's box and slowly stood, careful not to jostle the box too much. Nines quickly did the same, making sure to hold the gift he brought protectively.

The detective carefully placed the box on Chris' lap as his laughter died down, before turning to Nines.

"Chris and Connor are gonna take care of Meeko while we're at Eli's. That cat has some bad separation anxiety already." Gavin said. "I would put Tina in charge because Turnip and Bobo love her, but she's still settling in as a Detective."

"Speaking of, I gotta go!" Tina squeaked quickly walking towards the hallway to leave. "Happy Birthday Gav!" She called before the door opened and shut. Gavin's phone buzzed as soon as Tina left. He checked it, and immediately rolled his eyes before replying.

"Eli's waiting for us. I told him to not do anything super over the top because he's dramatic like that." Gavin hummed.

"He is your half-brother after all." Chris smiled, gently petting Meeko.

"Shut up." Gavin shot back with a smile. He turned to Nines. "We should be going though."

"Alright." Nines replied.

"Don't burn my apartment down and don't hurt any of my cats or I will kill you both myself." Gavin said to Connor and Chris before exiting the room.

"Nines, before you go," Connor stood from his seat and walked to his brother to avoid Chris from hearing. "be careful around Kamski. You know what happened when I went over there and I don't want anything bad to happen to you or his Chloes either."

"If Detective Reed refers to Elijah Kamski as 'Eli' and is one of the only family members he hasn't cut off, then I believe it's safe to assume Kamski isn't as bad as he was during the revolution." Nines replied.

"Still." Connor hummed. "I don't want my brother getting hurt." Nines placed a hand on Connor's shoulder.

"I'll be fine Connor. I'm the most advanced prototype in the world." Nines gave a small smile before leaving the room and returning to Gavin's side.

"Let's not keep Eli or the Chloes waiting. Eli's a dramatic bitch and that rubbed off on almost every Chloe." Gavin said, leading Nines out the door.

When they arrived in the parking lot, Detective Chen's car was gone. Gavin and Nines got into Gavin's car, Nines keeping his gift safely in his lap. Gavin hadn't noticed the box before.

"What's that?" He asked while starting the car.

"A present." Nines replied simply.

"For me?"

"Yes."

"You didn't need to do that. You being there is enough." Gavin smiled, backing the car out of its parking space.

"It's appropriate to bring a gift to a human's birthday party. Connor would have forced me to get a gift anyway." Nines replied. Gavin gave a small laugh.

"Yeah, he can be pretty over the top when it comes to presents." Gavin pulled out of the parking lot and out onto the road. "Last Christmas, the DPD had a Secret Santa bullshit event. Connor obviously didn't understand the concept at the time because he gave everyone a gift."

"That about sounds right." Nines said with a small chuckle.

"Thank god Connor gave me Meeko the day he did. Otherwise, he would have bombarded me with shit I didn't need today." Gavin drove down the road with familiarity. It was like he went to The Kamski Residence as often as he drove to work.

"When I was moving into my apartment, Connor insisted on helping me but he just ended up doing everything for me." Nines commented. Gavin let out a laugh. The butterfly feelings were really going at it today.

"I wouldn't expect anything less." Gavin shrugged. "That plastic-can is really stupid sometimes."

"Don't call him stupid." Nines hissed. "Only I'm allowed to do that."

"Well, by that logic, you can't say shit about Eli."

"Fair enough."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another cat !!! baby !!! nines being too nervous to hold a cat !!!!!! also connors a good brother, he’s trying his best lmao


	28. Birthday Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Nines show up at Elijah's house. The Chloe's and Elijah are excited to see Gavin (and Nines).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i should be doing my assignments but i've given up on school so not right now my guy  
> anyway here's elijah kamski being a decent human being

Elijah Kamski's house was very modern-styled and on a cliff. Why someone would voluntarily live so far away from the main city was confusing, but Nines wouldn't question it. After all, the man probably wanted some space away from the Detroit that _he_ created. As Gavin's car parked in front of the house, Nines spotted an RT600 standing at the front door. She stood with a gentle smile on her face.

"Chloe's already waiting for us." Gavin laughed, taking his keys out of the ignition. "She's really nice, I'm sure you'll like her and her sisters." Gavin exited the car and Nines followed a second later.

The partners walked towards the door, Chloe waiting patiently. As they appeared in-front of her, Chloe's small smile became more friendly.

"It's wonderful to see you again Gavin." She said.

"You too Chloe." Gavin replied, stretching his arms out. Chloe gave a small laugh before giving Gavin a hug. Nines didn't know why, but his metaphorical stomach squeezed. Once the pair released from their hug, Chloe led them inside.

"Elijah, Cleo, and Clover are all in the living room. I need to grab something from the kitchen, but Gavin you remember where everything is, yes?" Chloe said.

"Yeah, it's been a while, but I remember this place like my own house." Gavin smiled. Chloe gave a nod before disappearing off into a hallway. "C'mon, the living room's this way." Gavin led Nines to the hallway opposite where Chloe went. This hallway was long with multiple rooms coming off of it. According to what he had shown Nines, Connor hadn't see this area. This was uncharted territory for the RK.

"Are Cleo and Clover other Chloes?" Nines asked as they passed a room that smelt like a cologne commercial.

"Yeah. They can't all be Chloe, can they?" Gavin laughed. "Chloe's the first one, Cleo and Clover are the second and third. There's a few others, but I'm pretty sure they went off to live their lives freely."

"So Chloe, Cleo, and Clover all stayed with Kamski?" Nines questioned. Gavin gave a nod as they approached an archway leading into a room. As Gavin entered the archway, a clink of glass sounded. Like a glass cup being quickly placed on a glass table. A few seconds after the noise, someone appeared from the room and gave Gavin a strong hug.

This someone was Elijah Kamski.

"Gavin, it's wonderful to see you again!" He said. Nines was expecting a hit of sarcasm, but that was completely genuine. Maybe Connor's paranoia was getting to him...

"Hey Eli." Gavin murmured, hugging back. "Been a while, hasn't it?"

"Um, yeah?" Elijah scoffed, releasing the hug but keeping his hands on Gavin's shoulders. "Kinda offended you didn't say Happy Birthday to me in person."

"Sorry 'bout that." Gavin said, rubbing his wrist. "I was working on a case and didn't have the time." Nines could tell that was a lie, but Elijah didn't notice. Speaking of Elijah, he turned to look at Nines.

"You're the RK900, I'm assuming?" Elijah questioned. He was now realizing the similarities between Kamski and his half-brother.

"Nines, yes." The android said in response. "It's nice to meet you in person, Mr. Kamski." Nines held out his hand for a handshake, but Elijah lowered the hand down.

"Please, call me Elijah," He hummed. "Mr. Kamski was my bitch of a step-father." Gavin made a fake gagging noise at the mention of Elijah's step-father.

"Noted." Nines nodded. Elijah smiled before leading the two into the living room.

It was very modern, plenty of unnecessary shelves everywhere. The tables were glass, which is very hazardous. There was a wall length window the side opposite the entrance. Two RT600s sat on one of the two couches (likely Cleo and Clover). Elijah picked up a wine glass that was half full of red wine before sitting down next to Cleo. Gavin threw himself down onto the other couch while Nines carefully sat down next to him.

"So, what kind of cases have you two been working on?" Elijah asked. "You've been partners for, what, three months now?"

"Three months, yes." Nines confirmed. "We've been clearing out most of Gavin's cases that he hadn't started on, which were mostly Android Homicides."

"Hm. I thought that was Lieutenant Anderson and Connor's thing." Elijah hummed, taking a sip of his wine.

"It is," Gavin spoke up. "but they can't do every single homicide that comes in, no matter how well they work together."

"So they are still working together!" Elijah smirked.

"The Anderson's are a very good pair, I doubt Captain Fowler would split them up anytime soon." Nines replied.

"Mhm, that makes sense." Elijah murmured. "So Gav, you told me that Tina got a promotion?"

"Oh, yeah!" Gavin exclaimed, sitting up. "She's a detective now! Tina got her first detective case like, yesterday."

"Wow, that's amazing!" Cleo piped.

"Tell her we're very happy for her!" Clover added.

"Oh, I will. She'll be thankful." Gavin replied. It seemed like Elijah was going to ask another question, but Chloe came into the room holding a cake and a present bag.

"Ooh!" Elijah smiled. "Chloe, Cleo, and Clover made this themselves! It's amazing!" Chloe put the cake onto the glass table and placed the present down near Gavin.

"God, a birthday cake? I haven't had a real one in like, years." Gavin sighed.

"Well yeah, you're busy ass was too preoccupied with the Detroit Police Academy to even try and celebrate!" Elijah scoffed.

"You didn't celebrate your birthday when you first moved here?" Nines asked as Chloe lit the candles.

"No. Chris and my academy classmates had no idea when my birthday even was." Gavin hummed.

"Okay! Okay!" Elijah exclaimed. Chloe kneeled down to the floor next to the table once she finished lighting the candles. "Gavin are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be." He muttered. Elijah started them off, and the group (besides Gavin obviously) sang Happy Birthday. Nines had done the same thing at the Lieutenant's party. The song was weird and slow, like some sort of ritual. Plus, the fact that it was sang every year made it sound more and more like a cult.

Once the group ended the song, Gavin gave a embarrassed laugh before blowing out the candles.

"I never say this, but i'm too old for that shit." Gavin mumbled, dragging a hand down his face. Chloe cut two pieces of the cake out and put them on plates before handing them out to the two humans in the room.

"I'll go and get the rest of the presents." Chloe announced with a smile, walking out of the room and back down the hallway.

"God, do I need anymore presents? Connor already gave me a fuckin cat and Nines has whatever's in that box." Gavin said, leaning back against the couch.

"Connor got you a cat??" Clover exclaimed. "What kind??"

"He's a Maine Coon Kitten." Nines replied for Gavin, as his mouth was now full of cake. "About two weeks old, and Gavin named him Meeko." Cleo and Clover both let out squeals.

"Adorable!!" Cleo exclaimed.

"You and your cats..." Elijah muttered, taking a sip of his wine as he placed his now empty plate on the table. Chloe entered the room, two boxes in one arm and three smaller ones in the other. All of them were wrapped in colorful paper.

Chloe placed them on the ground infront of Gavin as he placed his half cleared plate on the table.

"The small ones are from me, Cleo, and Clover." Chloe explained. "Those two are from Elijah."

"You said to not go overboard, but I couldn't not get you two things. I think they're perfect for you." Elijah said with another sip of wine.

"Yeah, I expected that." Gavin shrugged, picking up Cleo's gift first.

Each gift was different. Cleo's was multiple bags of candy which Gavin immediately began eating (that wouldn't be good for his teeth). Clover's was a photo frame with a picture of the three Chloe's making a heart inside (Gavin clearly loved it, which was very sweet of him). Chloe's was a pocket sized tube of sunscreen as well as a few white hydrangeas (the sunscreen was said to be an inside joke). Elijah's gift consisted of one 'joke gift' (a large box with only a pair of socks that said 'fuck you' inside), and one genuine gift (a coffee tumbler that had 'it's vinegar, pussy' written on it and a shirt that said 'ever said fuck the police? this is your chance').

"Eli, these are stupid." Gavin laughed, folding the shirt carefully.

"But do you like it?" Elijah asked.

"Duh, of course I do." Gavin replied.

"Now it's your turn Nines!" Cleo smiled. He had barley said a word the whole time Gavin was unwrapping his presents.

"Yeah, what'd you get for me?" Gavin asked with a half-smile. Nines placed the small box in Gavin's hand.

"I did a bit of research and decided on this." He said as Gavin opened the top. The detective stared down at the contents in the box. It was either confusion or in awe. Either way, Nines was nervous for a response.

"What is it?" Clover questioned. Gavin took a black beaded bracelet out of the box.

"What is this?" Gavin questioned.

"A black tourmaline bracelet." Nines replied.

"What???" Elijah exclaimed, almost choking on his wine.

"Wha— why?" Gavin questioned again, holding the bracelet in his hand like Nines had held Meeko.

"Tourmaline is the birthstone of October. The gem is also known to remove negative energy and attract positive." Nines replied.

"You didn't have to..." Gavin murmured.

"But I did." Nines smiled. Gavin stared at the bracelet for a few seconds before carefully slipping it onto his wrist.

"Thank....Thank you Nines." He huffed. "I don't know what else to say."

"I noticed in a few of the photos you kept in your house that you used to wear jewelry often. I won't question why you stopped, but you seemed to like bracelets."

"Yeah I get it, you're super thoughtful and all your gifts have a cool meaning." Gavin said, giving his partner a light punch on the shoulder. "But seriously, thanks a lot dude."

"Of course." Nines smiled back. Elijah cleared his throat, snapping Gavin and Nines' attention away from each other.

"Chloe, Cleo, Clover, how about you go and get that Thirium based cake that you made last night?" Elijah hummed, sipping at his wine again. Chloe nodded and her and her sisters left the room.

"I need to use the bathroom." Gavin stood. "Don't try and look at Nines' brain please." The detective left the room, leaving Elijah and Nines alone.

"So," Elijah hummed, placing his glass down on the table. "I'm guessing you have a thing for Gavin?"

"What?" Nines puzzled.

"Don't play dumb, Nines. I can tell by the way you watched Gavin. You _like_ him." Elijah smirked.

"I already had a crisis on my feelings, don't make me have another one." Nines murmured.

"That's what comes with being human." Elijah hummed. "What's your plan?"

"What plan?"

"To tell him how you feel." Elijah folded his hands in his lap. "Personally, I think you should tell him today."

"Today??" Nines exclaimed.

"Alright, that plans off the table." Elijah shrugged. "How about you get Chen and Miller to help out?"

"How?" Nines questioned.

"Dunno, maybe ask them to push Gav in the direction of asking you out or something." Elijah suggested.

"I'll think about it." Nines murmured as he detected Gavin close by. The Detective re-entered the room, hands in his pockets. To Nines' delight, the bracelet was still placed on his wrist.

"Sup' Nerds. He didn't look at your brain did he?" Gavin asked sitting back down.

"No he didn't." Nines replied.

"Good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JGEJNVHSEENJEG thank you guys for 100 kudos !!!


	29. Cupid's Arrow Missed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina, Chris, and Gavin have a chat at a coffee shop. They attempt to push Gavin in Nines' direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jheheheheehhe >:)

October wasn't only Gavin's favorite month because it was his birthday month, it was also his favorite because fall was fully taking over. Detroit in the fall didn't last as long as his childhood town in Ohio, but Gavin still enjoyed seeing leaves fall off the trees and seasonal coffee. Speaking of coffee, Tina and Chris invited him out for coffee the day after his birthday. He hadn't "gone out" in forever, seeing as Nines got him off his ass and actually started working. Once Reed started doing something, he couldn't stop doing something until everything was finished. So, it was a miracle that Tina and Chris actually managed to get him out of the precinct and to a coffee shop. Gavin assumed they were just gonna hang out, talk a little. Y'know, normal friend stuff. Tina and Chris, however, had a plan.

They were getting sick of watching Nines hopelessly pine after his partner, said partner not even noticing like the dumbass he is; So Tina made a plan. It was simple. Bring up the subject of dating and carefully push Gavin in the direction of Nines. Playing Matchmaker is easy!

The coffee shop Tina had decided on reminded her of her years back in Ohio, which Gavin would definitely appreciate. Even though there were shit memories from his home-state, he still loved it dearly. Tina and Chris were waiting patiently outside the shop, having already ordered three drinks.

Luckily for Gavin, the coffee shop wasn't too far away from his apartment so he was able to walk. By the time he was in view of his friends they waved him over. Their plan was a go.

"'Sup nerds." Gavin greeted, sitting down at the table.

"Hey!" Chris and Tina greeted back.

"We already ordered drinks for the three of us." Tina stated. "Don't worry, I made sure yours is what you normally get."

"Nice." Gavin hummed. "You guys sounded like you wanted to talk about something when you invited me to hang."

"Eh, wouldn't say it's too urgent." Tina shrugged. Chris gave her a confused smile but she continued. "We just wanted to chill, maybe hear what happened at Kamski's. Dunno."

"Eli's house wasn't as eventful as you'd think it'd be." Gavin snickered. "He may be a dramatic bitch, but he does listen when I tell him to tone it down. Well... most of the time."

"Hm." Tina hummed. "So what'd you get?"

"Cleo gave me a shit ton of candy, which I finished in like, two days." Gavin said.

"I pity your dentist." Chris joked.

"Oh, I stopped going to the dentist a while ago. I probably have so many cavities." Gavin laughed. "Anyway, Clover gave a picture frame with her and her sisters making a heart. It was fuckin' adorable."

"All the Chloe's are adorable Gav." Tina pointed out.

"Yeah, exactly." Gavin nodded. "They're too amazing for this world. Chloe gave me some flowers."

"Really? You barley drink water yourself, how can you remember to water plants?" Chris questioned.

"I won't." Gavin laughed. "Eli gave me some clothes and shit. Dumb references from 2017."

"GOD, please tell me there was a vine reference in his gift!" Tina exclaimed.

"Of course there was, what kind of person do you take him for?" Gavin laughed. Tina gave a nod. An employee came out of the shop with their three drinks and placed them down on the table. Chris and Tina said 'thank you' before the employee left.

"What did Nines give you?" Tina asked, taking a sip of her drink. "He gave us a few of his ideas but didn't tell us what he settled on."

"He gave me this." Gavin held up his right wrist, where a black beaded bracelet was. "He said it was black tourmaline, which is pretty neat."

"Cool!" Chris exclaimed. "We knew he was thinking about jewelry, but we were sure." The trio went silent for a minute, quietly enjoying their drinks.

"So, did Elijah talk about...like...your love life?" Tina asked bluntly. Chris tried hard not to physically cringe. "I know he used to be all up in your business in high school, and I don't know if that changed or not." Gavin let out a small laugh.

"He didn't even mention it surprisingly." Gavin shrugged. "Even if he did I probably would have panicked and changed the subject."

"Well you're not allow to change it this time." Tina claimed. Gavin let out a comically loud sigh.

"How is your love life going Gav?" Chris asked genuinely.

"Okay I guess. I haven't talked to anyone since Nate." Gavin shrugged taking a longer sip from his drink.

"Anyone you're showing interest in?" Tina urged. Gavin's cheeks went the slightest bit pink.

"Maybe...." He trailed off. Tina and Chris glanced at each other before immediately leaning closer to Gavin.

"Who is it???" Tina squealed. "I hope it's who I think it is!!" The rookie detective was screaming 'NINES' in the back of her mind.

"I'm not telling you!" Gavin laughed, scooting his chair away.

"Describe him then!" Chris suggested.

"As long as neither of you name-drop who you think it is." Gavin hummed.

"Fine, no name-dropping." Tina agreed. Chris nodded, agreeing as well.

"Okay, well...." Gavin tapped on the table in thought. "He's taller than me, pretty muscular, and he works for the DPD."

"That could be literally any guy besides Hank and most of the android officers." Tina pointed out. "We need more deets!!"

"Okay!" Gavin said, holding his hands up in surrender. "He has brown hair and blue eyes. Um, he's very dedicated and charming."

Tina and Chris gave another glance at each other. It _had_ to be Nines. No _way_ could anyone else match that description!

"That's all I'm telling you."Gavin finished. "You can figure it out."

"Oh, I think we know." Tina grinned. "Have you thought about asking him out?"

"A little..." Gavin murmured. "I don't know what I'd say though."

"You've known him for a while, it'll be fine!" Chris encouraged. "Just say what you're thinking! We have a feeling he likes you back." Gavin's eyes lit up at that.

"You think so?" Gavin questioned.

"Almost positive." Tina smiled, leaning back in her chair. Gavin stared down at the drink in his hands and Tina and Chris gave excited smiles at each other. Matchmaker was so much fun!!

"I think I'm gonna head off." Gavin announced standing from his chair. "I'm gonna read through a few cases before talking to him. Thanks for the drink you guys!"

"Cya Monday, Bitch!" Tina sang as Gavin walked away. As soon as Gavin was out of earshot, Tina immediately turned to Chris. "Oh my god, this went so well!!"

"I know!!" Chris grinned back. "Nines is gonna flip once Gavin asks him out!"

————

The weekend was torture for Tina. She didn't get any messages from Gavin _or_ Nines. I guess it made sense? Gavin was probably embarrassed if he already told Nines, and said android would be having a crisis and probably screaming to Connor. Tina understood, she really did, but it was just everyday calls with Chris to see if either Gav or Nines messaged him.

When Monday finally rolled around, Tina was almost dying of anticipation. Tina and Chris happened to arrive at the same time. The pair spotted Nines walking into the precinct. Gavin wasn't anywhere to be seen. He could be inside already. Tina and Chris quickly made their way into the precinct lobby and checked in as fast as they could. As soon as they entered the bullpen they ran to Nines, who had entered the area only thirty seconds earlier.

"Nines!" Tina exclaimed, stopping the android in his tracks. "What did he say?"

"What?" Nines questioned.

"Gavin! What did he say to you?" Tina repeated. Nines just gave her another confused look.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Gavin hasn't spoken to me since his birthday." Nines replied.

"What...?" Tina hummed. She gave a look at Chris who held an equal amount of confusion.

"What did you two do?" Nines asked, crossing his arms, a stern look on his face.

"I thought..." Tina trailed off, ignoring Nines' question. At that time, Gavin entered the bullpen. There was a small smile on his face.

"Hey Gav." Chris greeted, snapping Tina out of her mindless thinking.

"Hey guys!" Gavin greeted back. "I took your advice."

"Really?" Chris smiled as Tina gave Nines an apologetic look.

"Yeah!" Gavin hummed. "I can't believe you guys were right! I was thinking you were being assholes and just pranking me, but he actually does like me! It's crazy!"

"Awesome!" Chris said. Tina knew it was fake, and Nines could probably tell too, but Gavin didn't notice.

"I know right?? We're going out for dinner this Wednesday, and I'm so fucking excited!" Gavin exclaimed.

"Out of curiosity, could you tell us his name?" Tina asked.

"I thought you knew who I was talking about?" Gavin questioned back.

"We do! We just wanna confirm that it's the right guy!" Chris lied. Both Tina and Chris knew that. Nines however, was completely in the dark, and looking between Tina and Gavin.

"Well, it was Austin from the SWAT." Gavin admitted. "You guys remember him right?" Chris and Tina did their best to not physically cringe at the name that didn't belong to the RK900 that stood in front of them.

"Yeah, yeah! We remember! That's exactly who we thought it was!" Chris exclaimed. "Congrats Gav!"

"Thanks!" Gavin smiled before walking away to his desk. Chris, Tina, and Nines stood rooted to their spots for a minute before Nines grabbed Tina and Chris. He pulled them into the meeting room and slammed the door behind them.

"What the fuck did you guys do?" Nines asked.

"Okay, look," Tina started. "In our defense, Austin happens to have the same description as you."

"What did you guys do???" Nines repeated, louder.

"We had coffee with Gavin last Saturday, and we asked about his love life and he admitted that he had a crush on someone, but we weren't allowed to name-drop so he described the guy he liked and it sounded so much like you that we just went along and encouraged Gav to ask him out." Chris admitted, quickly. "Turns out, it was Austin Faith on the SWAT instead of you..." Nines pitched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"I can't believe this...I knew I shouldn't have listened to Kamski's advice." Nines took a deep breath before staring at Tina. His eyes struck through the shorter detective like a bullet. "This is your fault." Nines turned around and left the meeting room, slamming the door behind him.

Tina and Chris were silent for what felt like forever.

"Why couldn't CyberLife had made Nines look like Connor. Connor isn't threatening and he never looks like he's gonna kill you." Tina shivered. "I feel like I'm on Nines' hit list, right after Austin."

Turns out Matchmaker wasn't as easy as Tina thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so this was posted a little late, and that was because i was adding chapter summaries to all the other chapters ! i also changed the description a little :)  
> also while writing the other chapter summaries i had to re-read the chapters and wow inconsistency is my thing huh? lmao


	30. Emotions Suck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines and Connor have a chat at the Anderson residence after receiving a text from Gavin. Tina, Chris, and North come over and make things worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehehe this chapter includes :
> 
> -one line from gavin lmao  
> -a new texting format bc i hate the old one i was using  
> -hank and nines father son moment  
> -connor and nines brother content  
> -N ORTH  
> -chris and north being good friends  
> -and tina fucking everything up but then un-fucking it up a few minutes later

Wednesday was torture for Tina, Chris, and especially Nines. Gavin had taken another vacation day to spend out, and left Nines with all the work. Nines didn't mind, but he couldn't stop thinking about this SWAT guy that he didn't even know. Nines had refused to talk to Tina, Chris becoming a messenger for the two detectives. Chris would occasionally come over to Nines' desk to relay an apology from Tina, but he would dismiss it. Even Connor had been told about the situation and attempted to persuade Nines into accepting Tina's apology. He didn't.

All of Wednesday, Nines spend staring at an empty case report file, glancing at his partner's empty desk. Chris came over for Tina's daily apology message and Connor came over for his daily reason to forgive Tina (it was usually 'It wasn't even her fault Nines, just forgive her.'). Nines refused to listen to either. He didn't know why. Normally he'd be glad to listen to reasoning, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to even accept the fact that Tina was sorry. Even his Handler suggested that she had done it on purpose (that was the one thing Nines had refused to believe, he accepted that it was an accident).

By the time Nines was getting ready to clock out after a day of nothing, he received a message. It was from a group-chat that he forgot he was in. It consisted of Him, Gavin, Tina, Chris, and Connor. Gavin had originally created it before his birthday to remind the group to come to his house the previous week, but they had began to use it to share random information or pictures. The message Nines received made his metaphorical heart drop.

**Gavin** : _"yo guess who has an actual boyfriend now !!!!"_

Nines was so in shock that he didn't notice the incoming messages from the other three people in the groupchat.

**Tina** : _"really??? epic !"_

 **Chris** : _"good for u man !!"_

 **Connor** : _"Congratulations Detective :)"_

Nines could tell that none of them were genuinely excited about it. How? He could see Tina giving a sorry look at him from the break room. He could see Chris' stress levels rising as he re-read the message from Gavin on his phone. Nines could even see Connor's LED turn scarlet. Nines let out a heavy sigh before standing and exiting the precinct. He wasn't going to clock out yet. He needed to update his findings on one of his cases. He just needed a break.

Nines stood outside the doors, he could feel the receptionists looking at him through the glass. The wind was going at about 5.3mph (8.5kph). He counted about 1,356 dried leaves on the ground (he stopped counting when 13 more fell from a nearby tree). There was about 15 cars that passed by (11 of them being automated). He counted 12 people walking by (about half of them androids). He was beginning to count the number of windows he could see on the buildings across the street but Lieutenant Anderson had appeared, distracting him.

The two stood in silence. Nines noted the differences in posture. His was straight and perfect, hands behind his back. The Lieutenant's was slightly bent back, hands in his jacket pockets.

"Connor told me what happened." The Lieutenant said after a few minutes of nothing. Of course Connor did, he couldn't keep anything to himself. "Are you okay?"

"My systems are functional." Nines replied.

"But are you okay?" Anderson asked again. Nines didn't reply. He knew what was going on here. Simon had done it multiple times at Jericho and the Lieutenant had done it for the brief days he had stayed at the Anderson residence. The silence returned.

"If you came here to tell me to accept Detective Chen's apology, then you can leave." Nines spoke up. Lieutenant Anderson let out a soft laugh.

"I'm not doing that, kid. That's Chris and Connor's job at the moment." He said. "I'm here to check on you. You and Connor got that text at the same time and both of you straightened up like there was a stick up your ass. Your light is still red too." Nines let out a small sigh through his nose.

The Lieutenant was far to good at noticing Nines and Connor's small tics.

"The Reed I knew was a huge douche. Honestly surprised that you tamed him so quickly." The Lieutenant continued. "The day you came back from his house, Reed looked like a changed man. How'd you do that? We've been trying ever since he became a Detective."

"I promised him something that night. I don't know if that was the reason for his change, but he seemed to trust me." Nines remarked.

"What'd you promise him?"

"I can't tell you or he'll break my finger." Nines hummed. "It was a pinky promise."

"Of course Reed still does the Pinky Promise shit." The Lieutenant laughed, rolling his eyes. "That kid may be in his thirties, but he's a child."

"I would have to agree, Lieutenant. We went to a Party City for his birthday." Nines replied.

"First of all, I told you to call me Hank, kid. No need for the Lieutenant shit. Second, a Party City? Those are still around?" He said back.

"They aren't as common anymore. Apparently, in high school, Gavin and Tina used to mess around in the store for his birthday. I find it just as odd as you would." Nines stared at the nearest tree, eyes trained on a squirrel climbing up the highest branch. The silence returned for a third time. Nines could tell there was something Hank was going to say, but he decided against it.

"Remember to recharge yourself tonight." Hank patted Nines on his shoulder before re-entering the precinct. The old man had never let down the time Nines avoided stasis and reminded him to 'recharge' every chance possible. After a few more minutes of standing in the fall air, Nines decided to go back inside.

As soon as he sat back down at his desk, he began updating his cases. He wrote notes on almost every case he was assigned, noting every single possible lead or crack in the report. A possible witness? Noted. A possible connection to another suspect? Noted. The witnesses were said to be in the same place but never interacted? Noted. He did this for so long, that most of the precinct had left by the time he was starting one of last ones. The only people Nines saw were Tina, Chris, Connor, and a few other android officers. Hank had left earlier, why Connor stayed behind was unknown. Nines was noting another possible lead when a hand was placed on his shoulder.

He quickly recognized it as Connor's and didn't bother to look up. The RK800 sent a message.

_Nines get off your computer. It's time to leave._

**_No._ **

_Nines. It's almost 11pm. You need to head home._

_**I'm working.** _

_Nines, if you're not going to go home then you're coming home with me._

_**I don't need you to take me to my home.** _

_No, I mean your coming to my house_.

_**I don't need to.** _

"Nines..." Connor sighed outloud. When the RK900 didn't move, Connor frowned. "C'mon, I'm getting you out of here." Connor removed Nines' hands from the keyboard and turned the computer off with a simple interface. Connor pulled Nines from his chair and grabbed his things.

"Connor, I was working." Nines protested. "I don't need to go home with you."

"You're going to over work yourself and your systems will crash." Connor replied, pulling Nines away from his desk.

"My systems were fine."

"You were starting to overheat."

"My internal fan was doing fine. Plus this place has air conditioning."

"If you kept working, still would have overheated."

"It was a 17% chance."

"Be quiet and get into the taxi."

\-----------

Nines sat on the Anderson's couch, Sumo sprawled out on the floor in-front of him. The RK900 held a pouch of thirium, his jacket thrown onto the back of the couch behind him. Connor sat in a separate chair, typing away at his laptop. A nonsense movie was playing on the TV, but Nines and Connor had long forgotten about it.

"I still don't know why I needed to come here. I'm fine." Nines said, fiddling with the thirium pouch.

"You're systems would have crashed if you stayed staring at a computer for so long. I could tell you weren't even done. You could have passed out." Connor replied, eyes not moving from the laptop.

"Androids can't 'pass out'." Nines retorted.

"But they can crash. Crash is also human slag for passing out." Connor said with a very small smirk on his face. Nines rolled his eyes and sunk back. Hank wasn't in the living room when Nines and Connor arrived. Nines had assumed that the lieutenant went to sleep.

"What are you doing?" Nines questioned, pulling his legs up to the couch and leaning over to look at Connor's screen.

"It's just some Jericho stuff." Connor hummed. The RK had been an honorary leader at New Jericho longer than Nines has been alive. He mainly helped with protection and finances. Why he was in charge of two different things, Nines didn't know. Connor liked doing it though, so he didn't say anything.

"What kind of Jericho stuff?" Nines asked.

"Simon and Markus have been planning on making a garden. Many of the permanent New Jericho residents have had a positive response, so Markus put me in-charge of preparations." Connor elaborated.

"Garden as in Bad, or Garden as in Backyard?" Nines asked again. He knew Connor had bad memories that involved Gardens in general, so they had developed a code to avoid saying or mentioning 'Zen Garden'. 'Bad' meant the Zen Garden, and 'Backyard' meant a vegetable garden (there was also 'Park' which meant a flower garden, and that was Nines' personal favorite).

"Backyard. Markus knew that I would help upkeep it and he wouldn't want it to trigger anything." Connor replied.

"Okay, so you get to yell at me for overworking myself at the precinct, but when it comes to you and gardening..."

"That's a totally different thing!!" Connor grinned, smacking his brother's arm.

"Really? Because I think it's both overworking!!" Nines said, arms crossed. The brothers' laughter died down as a message appeared in both their notifications. Tina created a new group chat that had Her, Chris, Connor, and Nines. The first message she sent was weird.

**Tina** : _"north is on the Nines X Gavin train right ??"_

 **Connor** : _"Yes, I think so?"_

 **Nines** : _"She is. The first thing she did when I told her was punch me."_

 **Tina** : _"one of you add her to this,,, i have a very important thing to say"_

 **Chris** : _"what's happening"_

Connor added North to the group-chat (he messaged her in private first to make sure she was okay with it, of course).

**North** : _"supp"_

 **Tina** : _"AIGHT SO,,,,, i've got a plan"_

 **Chris** : _"oh god"_

 **Connor** : _"Can we know what we're trying to do first??"_

 **Tina** : _"we gotta get gavin and austin to break up"_

"What?" Connor said, out loud. Nines didn't know if that was a mistake or on purpose.

**North** : _"hol up fill me in real quick,, nines hasn't told me shit since the birthday"_

 **Chris** : _"gavin got a bf today, his name is austin"_

 **North** : _"o shit"_

 **Connor** : _"Tina, please tell me your plan is legal."_

 **Tina** : _"i think so"_

 **Connor** : _"TINA"_

 **Tina** : _"hacking into cameras is legal right"_

 **Nines** : _"It depends on the circumstance."_

 **Tina** : _"ok well,,, i can elaborate in person but basically the idea is that we go through security cam footage to see if we can dig anything up on austin"_

 **Connor** : _"That is a HORRIBLE idea."_

 **Chris** : _"gonna have to agree with that ^"_

 **North** : _"yall are babies, im in and i haven't even heard the whole idea"_

 **Tina** : _"i was thinking of meeting up at connor's house to elaborate since i'm assuming that's where nines is rn"_

 **Chris** : _"wouldn't hank stop this????"_

 **Nines** : _"He's currently asleep."_

 **Connor** : _"To be fair, he probably wouldn't care if we gave him a legitimate reason..."_

 **North** : _"i'm already on my way haha"_

 **Tina** : _"okay i guess it's decided, see you rk bois in a few minutes ;)"_

 **Connor** : _"See you soon."_

The fact that Connor didn't put a smiley face at the end was already worrisome. His red LED, and puzzled expression sold the deal.

"This is a horrible idea. I don't want involvement in this." He said, shutting his laptop.

"I don't want to be involved either." Nines admitted. "I would have stopped it, but Tina Chen is very stubborn."

"In the words of both North and Hank, 'We are stubborn son's a bitches too'." Connor replied, standing. Connor walked around, cleaning up a few items here or there while Nines stayed on the couch. About fifteen minutes after Connor sent his last message, there was a knock at the front door. Connor opened it to reveal North, Tina, and Chris. The three filed into the house.

"I'm going to say before we actually do anything, that I have to leave in an hour so let's not make this longer than we need to." Chris announced as he sat down on the couch, the opposite side of Nines. Connor sat back down in his chair while North situated herself between Nines and Chris. Tina sat on the floor in front of the TV, Sumo half asleep on her lap.

"Okay, so, my idea is that Nines can hack into the SWAT security cams or literally any place Austin as been seen in and send it over to my laptop." Tina explained. "We can look through it and try to find any incriminating footage of Austin. Anything that could get Gavin to dislike him."

"That's not okay." Connor piped.

"Yeah, Tina, that's pretty rough." Chris nodded. "Pretty sure thats like, psychological manipulation or something." Tina stayed silent for a minute.

"What if we find something that could actually get him in trouble though?" She suggested.

"That's a 24.2% chance. Austin Faith is a good man. He's an android ally and has spoken up for his android coworkers. He follows the law and is a SWAT sniper." Connor replied. "I doubt there'd be anything incriminating there."

"That 24.2% chance tells me that it is possible he's got some incriminating stuff!" Tina shrugged. "There's always a chance for improbable things to happen!"

"This is basically cyberstalking." Connor deadpanned. "I'm pretty sure what you're planning on doing is illegal too."

"Look, if we get in trouble, I'll take the blame okay?" Tina said. "You don't have to be involved if you don't want to. You can keep working on whatever you were doing before."

"Weren't you working on the Jericho Garden?" North asked as Connor re-opened his laptop.

"Yes." Connor replied before ignoring the rest of the conversation.

"Okay!" Tina exclaimed. "Everyone on board?"

"Not really," Chris mumbled. "I still think this is bad."

"Like I just said, if anything happens I'll take the blame. If we get in trouble, it's my fault."

"Okay, so me and Nines'll get as much security footage as possible and sent it to you so you guys can search it?" North questioned.

"Yup." Tina confirmed.

"Why are we doing this?" Nines asked. The room went silent. Even Connor's typing stopped. "We're going to spy on an innocent man just so you guys can get Gavin to date me."

"Didn't think about that, did ya?" Connor mumbled.

"This is so...wrong..." Nines cringed. "I feel so...bad..." Nines pulled his legs to his chest and buried his face in his knees.

"Hey, hey..." North cooed, rubbing the taller android's back.

"This is...a horrible idea!" Nines exclaimed, his voice slightly muffled by his jeans. "If Gavin finds out I was involved then everything will be worse!" His voice cracked slightly at the end, and that made Tina's heart ache.

Why did Elijah even give adult androids the function to cry? It hurt and I doubt Kamski found it useful.

"We'll be spying on this guy...that Gavin likes...just so we can make them break up..." Nines lifted his head a little as he spoke.

It wasn't a lot, but Tina definitely saw a few tears track down. That's a first... She'd never seen Nines upset at all.

"Gavin actually likes this guy!" Nines cried. "We're gonna take him away just so I can replace him! I feel so....shit about that!!" Nines' eyes dove back into his knees as he fought back tears.

Connor, North, and Chris all tried to help, giving small whispers of'you're okay' and giving reassuring rubs on his back. Tina, however, stayed to the side. She didn't know if Nines was still mad at her, he had been Monday all the way up to today. Tina didn't know what to do as the detective that she looked up to (both literally and as a role model for a perfect detective) broke down into tears about something she suggested.

Tina could only hear Nines. Why? She didn't know, and she didn't like it. Her brain had blocked out Sumo's loud snoring, the movie playing behind her, even the very light rain outside. All her brain could hear was Nines desperately fighting the urge to bawl his eyes out like a child.

"You don't have to be involved if you don't want to." Tina added. She couldn't bare to have this be the Nines that was left if her plan succeeds. Her heart was already chipping just hearing his hiccups... "It might not cure your guilt entirely, but it'll probably help." The room was silent again (other than Sumo's snores, the movie, the light rain, and Nines' sniffles).

"I'm so sorry Tina." Nines whimpered, lifting his head on top of his knees to look at her. God, why did Kamski had to make androids crying so realistic?? Tears were tracking down Nines' synthetic skin. She knew it was just water, fake saline tears, but Tina couldn't bare to see his hurt apologetic expression. It was far to familiar.

"What?" Tina puzzled. "I'm the one who should be sorry, I just tried to force a morally shitty plan on you."

"No, not that." Nines wiped his face with his sweater's sleeve. "I'm sorry about accusing you. I said it was your fault that Gavin got with Austin. It really wasn't. I'm so sorry."

"Hey, it's okay." Tina hummed, carefully pushing Sumo off her lap. "I forgive you. I understand why you accused me." The detective stood and walked to the couch, kneeling down and giving Nines a hug. The android quickly reciprocated, burying his face into the woman's shoulder. "You were stressed." Tina hummed. "Emotions are still different for you, and I understand that. You were looking for someone to blame. That's okay." It was a little awkward for the shortest of the bunch to be comforting the tallest this way, but neither of them minded.

"I'm still sorry..." Nines murmured.

"No need." North added. "From what I'm gathering, none of this was anyone's fault. It was more Gavin's fault for being an idiot."

"Makes sense." Tina said with a small chuckle.

"I feel like we all need to sleep." Connor suggested, shutting his laptop. "My optical units are going to give out if I stare at this computer screen any longer."

"Androids don't need sleep." Nines mumbled.

"Yeah? Well it sounds like you do, my guy." North hummed as Tina and Nines separated from their hug.

"I don't." Nines said, rubbing his eyes.

"You do." Tina said, lightly hitting Nines' leg before standing. "We should get home. North, you want a ride?"

"I'll get a cab. Thanks though." North replied.

"I gotta go make sure Damien's still asleep." Chris said, following Tina to the door.

"Have a goodnight." Connor waved with a smile.

"You too." Tina and Chris replied, leaving the house. North stood up and carefully laid down the Nines that had been leaning on her, on the verge of slipping into stasis.

"If we do go with Tina's plan, then Nines won't be involved." Connor said.

"Oh yeah. He won't be able to handle that." North replied as Sumo made his way over to lay in-front of Nines like a guard. A big fluffy guard. "He's strong, but his emotions can get the best of him."

"I'll bring him to New Jericho in the morning. Maybe he'll forget about Tina's plan." Connor said.

"Okay." North agreed.

The last thing Nines was awake for was North leaving the house and Connor draping a blanket over him. Afterwards, he slipped into stasis, Sumo sleeping peacefully below him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m bad at writing emotional scenes but i did my best :’)  
> also i’m gonna include north a lot more in the coming chapters, probably should have introduced her into the story earlier but oh well


	31. austin is pretty sus ngl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina and Chris look through the footage North sends. They re-meet Gavin's new boyfriend. Later that night, Tina finds something in the new footage North sends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eguauhegibehahf i hate this chapter bc it's mainly filler haha but it's tina pov so  
> the first have of this is pretty boring, just some gavin exposition and austin interaction  
> the second half has valerie being a good gf to tina and then a little bit of north texts  
> (sorry not sorry about the dumb title lmao)

Tina knew that this was a bad idea. She could get in serious trouble and her best friend would probably hate her for this, but she couldn't bare to watch Nines turn back into the straight-laced machine-deviant he was before. Gavin had (somehow) made Nines into a better version of Connor after they were partnered together. Tina didn't want to have that reversed. So she was risking her job, the job that she had taken effort to get. Yeah. She might regret this if she looses her job, but it's worth it if she actually finds something. Plus, she made a deal with the RK brothers that if she didn't find anything, then she'd do it their way instead.

The next day, around noon, North sent over a bunch of security footage. Tina and Chris didn't ask how she got it, and they didn't really want to know. Tina was lucky Chris (reluctantly) agreed to help, because she was honestly horrible at the new face tracking technology. Chris and Tina sat in the break room, Chris typing away at Tina's laptop. The Detective crossed her fingers that they'd find something, anything, that could be useful. Unfortunately, she knew that Austin Faith was a good guy. The sniper was one of the most honorable men in the SWAT, really. Tina knew that her plan probably wouldn't work, and as every minute passed she doubted it more and more.

Chris had gotten through half the footage when he finally spoke up.

"Tina, I don't think we're gonna find anything." He said. Tina sighed.

"I know, but keep looking, please." Tina tapped the table they were standing at. "I don't want Nines to become a machine-deviant again. Besides, I'm sure North can find more if we need it." Even though that had only been a small part of Nines and Tina's interactions, she didn't want to experience machine-deviant Nines again.

"I understand that you want Gavin and Nines to be together, but Gavin is actually happy with this guy." Chris admitted. "We _know_ Gavin wouldn't risk another bad relationship, you especially. Nines needs to learn how to move on in relationships anyway." Tina's fists clenched.

"I hate how logical you are..." She murmured.

"It's my gift." Chris shrugged, continuing his typing. "Speaking of him, where's Nines?"

"Connor took him to Jericho to take his mind off of the whole Gavin-Austin thing." Tina replied. Chris hummed and went silent again, concentrating on the computer screen. Tina risked a glance out to the bullpen and fought back a physical cringe.

Over at Gavin's desk, he was sat talking to the one and only _Austin Faith_. Fucking wonderful. Tina was about to wonder why Austin was even there, because he was supposed to be on SWAT duty, but then she looked into Captain Fowler's office and saw Captain Allen (aka Austin's squad leader). Gross. He had to be apart of Unit 32 of all units. Tina didn't like Allen that much, and neither did Gavin, or literally anybody in the precinct. It wasn't like he was a shit person, he just gave off the 'you shouldn't like me' vibe.

"Thank god Nines isn't here." Chris chuckled. He noticed Austin too. The more Tina watched Austin and Gavin talk, the more she realized that he was indeed mistakeable for Nines. Both of them had neat short brown hair, icey blue eyes, with a muscular and tall build. The few differences between them were that Nines was taller, Austin had wider shoulders, and the whole android/human thing. Either way, they were both bigger than Gavin.

That was something Tina noticed over the years. Gavin was about 5'5/5'6 and he always preferred guys who were taller than him. The other Detective was also pretty tough and light, but he always preferred stronger guys. Tina was the opposite. She liked smaller girls, mainly because she liked feeling tall. Valerie was a few inches taller than Tina, but she didn't mind. She loved Valerie anyway.

"Tina, if you keep staring at them, they'll notice." Chris pointed out. Tina reluctantly moved her attention back to the laptop. She watched Chris clack away, the face-tracking program doing a lot, if not most, of the work.

By the time Chris finished the given footage, they found nothing. Tina held her face in her hands.

"I told you we'd find nothing." Chris mumbled, closing the laptop.

"North can still get us more footage, we'll find something!" Tina hoped. She knew it wasn't going to be true, but she had to keep her hopes up. Tina was thankful Chris closed the laptop, because Gavin and Austin walked over, elbows linked. Tina fought back another cringe, because Gavin has _never_ done that.

"Hey, what're you nerds up to?" Gavin asked, resting his free elbow on the table.

"Just one of my cases." Tina lied. "We had to look through footage and stuff."

"Really? Which case?" Austin asked. Tina desperately wanted to smack that perfect smile off his perfect face.

"One of my newer ones." That wasn't a lie, there was a case she had gotten that needed her to look through camera footage. Perfect coverup.

"I see why Chris is helping, he's a wizard at that face tracking shit. Like, android level wizard." Gavin laughed. Chris gave a subtle laugh back. "Anyway, Austin you remember Tina and Chris, right?"

"Totally! It's great to see you two again!" Austin's smile became wider and Tina's urge to smack him grew.

She and Chris had met Austin long before Gavin ever showed _any_ interest in liking him. He was almost exactly the same. Tina noticed Captain Allen exit Captain Fowler's office.

"Hey, is Allen leaving?" Tina pointed out. Austin and Gavin looked over their shoulders.

"Oh shit, yeah I was thinking I should get going now." Austin nodded. He gave a small kiss to the top of Gavin's head. "See ya later babe." The sniper walked away, off to report back to his captain. Gavin watched him leave, and once Austin was out of sight he turned back to the table.

"Thank you guys, again, for telling me to do this! Austin's fucking awesome!" Gavin gave a quick side hug to Tina before walking off to his desk.

"Are you still sure you want to do this?" Chris asked once Gavin was out of earshot. Tina stayed silent. Chris slid Tina's laptop infront of her before leaving the break room. Tina sighed. She was gonna fuck everything up...

\-------

Tina sat on her apartment's couch. She had figured out how to use the program Chris was using to track Austin's face and North had sent more footage that she had found Austin in. How North had been finding Austin in so many random security cameras was amazing. As Tina looked through the footage of Austin at an Android-Run convenience store, Valerie appeared next to her. She was probably the only person who wasn't apart of the plan that knew what Tina was doing.

"I don't think you're gonna find anything T." Valerie hummed, pressing a kiss to Tina's temple.

"I know, but...I wanna help Nines..." Tina admitted.

"I know you do, but this isn't the best way to do it." Valerie's LED was yellow, and Tina knew that she was serious. Tina's shoulders slumped, but she continued to type, moving to the next piece of footage (it was Austin at an Android-friendly bar with a few co-workers).

"There has to be something here." Tina murmured. "I just have a feeling."

"Well, I'm gonna go to sleep. Head to bed soon, honey." Valerie pressed a kiss onto Tina's forehead before leaving to the bedroom. Tina continued looking through the bar footage. She took note that Austin was completely sober. Probably the designated driver. 

The next piece of footage was a camera outside the bar, near the dumpsters in the alleyway. There was a back exit leading into the back of the bar, so it sort of made sense to have a security camera here. Where did North even see Austin? Just as Tina thought that, Austin rounded the corner and entered the alleyway the same moment an android exited the back, a garbage bag in his hands. The android was probably a bartender, seeing as he wore the stereotypical uniform.

"What the..." Tina mumbled. She watched Austin approach the bartender as he threw away the garbage bag into the dumpster. There were two other people with Austin, but Tina wasn't pay attention to them. She was focused on the full bottle of whiskey he had in his grip.

Like in a flash, Austin smashed the bottle on the bartender's head and glass and whiskey went everywhere. Tina held in a gasp as the android fell to the concrete. Austin and the two other guys started beating up the poor bartender, thirium pooling under him. Tina paused the footage with wide eyes. No Way. NO FUCKING WAY.

Tina took the footage and quickly sent it over to North. 

**Me** : _*sent "sec.camfootage_31" to North*_

 **Me** : _"HEY WHAT THE FUCK"_

 **North** : _"HUH?????"_

 **Me** : _"YOU DIDN'T WARN ME BOUT THIS ???"_

 **North** : _"i didn't even see that ??? wtf ????"_

 **Me** : _"that mf ???? i--i don't even know what to say atm"_

 **North** : _"go to sleep we can talk about this later haha"_

 **Me** : _"show connor, don't show nines"_

 **North** : _"got it"_

  
Tina stared at the paused footage. Austin beating up an android?? She had to be dreaming. Tina sighed and closed her laptop and placed it to the side. She just needed to cuddle with Valerie and think about this when it wasn't 1:30am.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was originally shorter but it was boring and so i added the rest of that :) anyway hate this chapter but it's tina POV so i'll keep it  
> also happy halloween :)


	32. Make Some Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor and Nines show up at New Jericho so Connor can begin work on the garden. While he does that, Nines meets some new friends. Also North.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ACTUAL NOTE - this happens at the same time as the previous chapter. so as nines is making friends, chris and tina are looking at the security footage. the timeskips also happen at the same time. same time different locations :)
> 
> ok here we go

"Here we are!" 

Connor's smile was wide as he stepped out of the automated taxi. Nines followed suit and stared up at the building in front of him. Once again, New Jericho was their destination. Nines had been coming to New Jericho a lot more often than he used to. In fact, when he first left the building to stay the night at the Anderson's, he assumed he'd never come back. Connor led Nines into the building. The RK900 had originally wanted to go to the precinct and work on cases since Gavin was actually going to be present, but Connor forced him to come along to Jericho. Connor and Nines walked down the western first floor hallway. Nines hadn't realized there was a courtyard in New Jericho, so when Connor led him through double doors into an open square area, it was new. Not surprising, but new.

The courtyard was very obviously a work in progress, seeing as there was uncovered soil in all four quadrants. The sections were all separated by a stone path. Knowing Connor, this courtyard garden would end up looking great. Nines didn't know if Connor tried designing things or if he was just naturally good at it. Either way, whatever his brother designed, it looked nice.

"Connor! Nines! Good to see you!" The RK Brothers attention was caught by the deviant leader himself. Markus happily made his way over to them. "Haven't seen you in a while Nines, you've been okay?"

"I've been...adequate." Nines shrugged.

"That's better than bad!" Markus grinned. "Anyway, Connor, you got your plans?" The RK800 nodded, and started digging through the bag he had brought. He pulled out a large piece of paper that seemed to be a blueprint. Connor unrolled it and handed it to Markus.

"It took me a bit to figure out what would go where, but after plenty of research on vegetables and soil types, I figured this would be the best plan." Connor explained as the deviant leader scanned over the blueprint. Markus nodded as he handed the plan back to Connor.

"I have faith that you'll do a great job." Markus smiled.

"Thank you, Markus." Connor replied. Nines shifted his gaze between the two of them as a silence fell over them. He cleared his throat to break it.

"Right! Nines, are you gonna help Connor build this?" Markus asked, snapping out of his weird staring contest with Connor.

"I haven't had a chance to look at it." Nines admitted.

"That's because you should go meet some Jericho residents! Make some more friends!" Connor urged, smacking Nines' arm with the now rolled up blueprint.

"I already have you, Gavin, Tina, Chris, and North. Do I need anyone else?" Nines questioned. Markus let out a laugh as Connor shook his head disappointedly.

"When you first deviated, you didn't talk to anyone!" Connor reminded. "Whenever we told you to talk to someone you went to North! You need to make some more friends, brother!"

"But what if I'm alright with my current friends?" Nines asked, eyebrow raised.

"Just go talk to people!" Connor waved his hands at Nines and walked away to the middle area.

"Here, I know some people you should meet. Follow me." Markus said. Nines followed the android back into the building. Markus walked down the hallway and led Nines to the cafeteria. As soon as Nines walked in, he was immediately hit with a wave of nostalgia. The giant room was exactly the same as the last time he was in here. Same table placement, same smell, and same colors. The only difference was the people (probably. nines barley interacted with others at his time during jericho).

Markus led Nines over to a table that had three androids sitting at it. Two WR400s/Traci Models and one WR600. The WR400s were holding hands on top of the table. One of them had long blue hair while the other had short brown hair. The WR600 had blond hair and a large burn scar on the left side of his face.

"Hey there, would you mind if Nines hung out with you guys?" Markus asked.

"Not at all!" The blue haired traci smiled.

"Great! Nines meet Echo, Ripple, and Ralph." Markus introduced. "Echo, Ripple, Ralph, this is Nines. Connor's brother." Ripple, the brown haired traci, smiled and waved while Echo just smiled.

"Ralph is happy to meet a new friend!" Ralph grinned, clapping his hands together.

"They're really nice, I'm sure you'll love them." Markus assured, giving Nines a pat on the shoulder. The deviant leader left and Nines sat down next to Ralph.

"So Nines, you're Connor's brother?" Echo asked.

"That would be correct." Nines nodded.

"Connor actually spared us when we were first deviant." Ripple commented. "We were running from being caught, and he had us cornered with a gun to our faces."

"He let you go." Nines recalled with a nod. He remembered hearing Connor complain about that after suddenly booting himself out of stasis. He wasn't sure what Connor was complaining about specifically, but he was upset.

"Yeah, we're pretty glad about that." Echo admitted.

"Connor could have killed Ralph too, but he didn't!" Ralph grinned. "Connor was looking for Kara and her little girl. Connor could have attacked Ralph, but he was focused on Kara and her girl."

"Kara and Alice." Echo provided. "They were friends of Ralph's. They're deviants and they went up to Canada."

"Ralph still talks to Kara and her little girl sometimes! Ralph misses them and wishes he could visit." Ralph said, wiggling in his seat a little.

"They sound nice." Nines commented.

"Nines, you were activated here, right?" Ripple questioned. "You stayed here a while before leaving with Connor and the Lieutenant?"

"Yes, I did." Nines confirmed.

"I knew it!" Ripple smiled. "I knew we crossed paths back then."

"I didn't talk to anyone other than North, really." Nines admitted. "I stayed in my room for most of my time here. If I wasn't there I was outside with North, having a session with Simon, or in a maintenance check with Josh."

"That's what Ralph did when he first arrived here!" Ralph chirped. "Ralph didn't want to interact with anyone, but then he met Echo and her girlfriend and decided to leave his room!"

"You two are dating?" Nines asked. Ripple nodded resting her head on Echo's shoulder. "That's sweet."

"Our first anniversary is this November, after the revolution's anniversary." Echo commented.

"Congratulations." Nines said with a little hesitation.

"What about you? Have anyone on your radar?" Echo's smile was gentle and trusting. Nines could tell these three about Gavin, right?

"Well, sort of?" Nines shrugged. "I think I have feelings for him, but he recently got a boyfriend that he seems very happy with."

"That sucks." Ripple frowned. "I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize," Nines waved it off. "I completely understand if he doesn't return my expression." Except he didn't, but Nines didn't want to think about that right now.

"Ralph liked Kara for a while, but she didn't seem to like him much when they met. Ralph is friends with Kara though. He is okay with that." Ralph shrugged.

"That's nice." Nines nodded. Could he stay friends with Gavin if him and Austin become permanent? He'd hope so.

"If you ever need some advice, me and Ripple would be happy to help!" Echo smiled.

"Thank you." Nines smiled back.

\--------

North sat in her office, spinning around in her chair. She was set for a few more hours of work before she headed home, but she had nothing to do. All of security was fine, Josh didn't need help, Markus was busy reviewing the gardening thing, Simon was preparing for his sessions tomorrow, and Connor and Nines had gone home a while ago. She had already sent Chen another round of security footage she scrounged up, and rA9 knows she'd actually find anything.

North leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. If Chen did find anything interesting, then what would happen? Honestly, North just wanted Nines to be happy and not heartbroken. Knowing him, he'd most likely be cut off and distant like he was in New Jericho.

Suddenly, North received a text message.

**Detective Chen** : _*sent "sec_cam.footage_31" to You*_

**Detective Chen** : _"HEY WHAT THE FUCK"_

North quickly watched the footage. It was a clip of Austin, Detective Reed's jock of a boyfriend, beating up an android bartender... What the actual hell?? How had she missed that??

**Me** : _"HUH?????"_

**Detective Chen** : _"YOU DIDN'T WARN ME BOUT THIS ???"_

**Me** : _"i didn't even see that ??? wtf ????"_

**Detective Chen** : _"that mf ???? i--i don't even know what to say atm"_

**Me** : _"go to sleep we can talk about this later haha"_

**Detective Chen** : _"show connor, don't show nines"_

**Me** : _"got it"_

Show Connor, don't show Nines. That made perfect sense. The only flaw, is Connor would probably panic more than Nines would. Nevertheless, North sent the footage to Connor (she triple checked that she wasn't messaging nines).

**Me** : * _sent "sec_cam.footage_31" to RK800*_

**Me** : " _don't tell nines,, like seriously"_

**Me** : " _this is what chen found a few minutes ago"_

**Connor** : _"Oh my rA9—"_

**Connor** : _"No way,,"_

**Me** : _"uhh yeah way?? that's literally the raw footage and i'm actually kind spooked"_

**Connor** : _"How did we never find out about this?? I work at the police department, we handle that stuff!"_

**Me** : _"some androids are too afraid to report human abusers"_

**Connor** : _"Right."_

**Me** : _"again, don't tell nines bc he's gonna freak tf out and try and tell reed himself and everything's gonna fall apart"_

**Connor** : _"I won't. I don't think Nines would want to see it anyway."_

**Connor** : _"We'll talk about this soon."_

**Me** : _"ok"_

North laid her head down on her desk with a sigh. How could she have missed that? She was the one who sent the footage over! Either way, she felt horrible for Reed. He probably has no idea what's going on with that SWAT dude. What really sucked is that he was completely sober.

A drunken brawl, sure that'd make sense, but soberly beating up an innocent bartender is not okay. Poor android was just taking out the trash...

The more North thought about it, the more her mind confirmed that, if Nines knew he'd freak out. He panic and talk to Reed about the whole thing. Reed, from what she'd gotten to know of him, wouldn't accept that and would dismiss the RK like a dog. How did Nines like this guy? She didn't know. Then again, she barley knows anything about Reed, so she can't really make a good say on an opinion of him.

Let's just hope this'll all end okay...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't really have anything else to say other than i wrote this in advance and didn't have to stay up late to write something i actually like. um, i hope everyone who lives in america like me is doing okay, and even if you're not in america i hope you're doing okay :) i love you platonically and have a nice day


	33. what kind of bullshit coincidence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina shows Chris the security footage. However, the pair slips up when Gavin and Nines notice their weird mannerisms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /i dont like this chapter :)/  
> here we go tho!

Tina rushed into the bullpen, bag clutched to her chest. She had gotten up in a rush, drove to work in a rush, and her head was jumbled. The video from last night wasn't anything she'd ever think she'd see from someone as perfect as SWAT Sniper Austin Faith was.

As Tina quickly moved to the break room, where she had told Chris to meet, she caught Connor's eye. The RK800 was having a conversation with his brother. Connor wasn't normally expressive, but Tina could read his expression as 'I have no idea what do to right now' or something similar. Tina returned it with a look that hopefully read 'Don't let him know'.

The rookie detective was glad Gavin hadn't shown up yet, because he would have asked why she was in such a hurry to get to the break room. When she entered said room, she immediately hurried over to Chris who was standing in the corner most table. She carefully slammed her bag on the table and pulled out her laptop.

"So you found something?" Chris asked as Tina opened it.

"More than just something, Chris." Tina murmured as she opened the file. "Watch this." She moved the laptop to face her co-worker and pressed play.

Tina watched as Chris' expression changed from confusion to surprise. Once the clip was finished, Chris looked up at Tina with a bewildered look.

"I know." Tina agreed. "It's unedited, raw security footage. Both North and Connor confirmed it."

"Does Nines or Gavin know?" Chris asked.

"No. Connor and North agreed to not tell Nines." Tina hummed, moving her laptop towards herself. "Gavin can't know either."

"I can't know what?" Tina choked on her own spit as Gavin's voice sounded from behind her. She turned to see her best friend standing at the entrance of the break room, his bag still slung on his shoulder. He just arrived. What kind of bullshit timing???

"Nothing!" Chris smiled nervously as Gavin walked closer to their table.

"Really? Because it sounded like important..." Gavin glanced at the laptop, but Tina quickly shut it.

An awkward silence passed over the three friends. Tina and Chris nervously smiled while Gavin stood, confused.

"No way is it 'nothing', tell me what's going on you assholes." Gavin hissed. Tina and Chris exchanged a hesitant look.

"Promise you won't tell anyone?" Tina asked.

"What, are you hiding illegal porn on your laptop or something?" Gavin laughed.

"No, I just need you to promise that you won't let anyone know about this." Tina repeated. "Okay?" Gavin pauses before holding out his right pinky finger.

"Promise." He said. Tina locked her left pinky finger with his and they gave a shake before unlocking. Tina sighed before opening her laptop. She restarted the footage and played it, allowing Gavin to watch.

He looked confused at first. Then it morphed to something similar to Chris' shocked expression, but anger added into it. Tina knew he was angry, even if it wasn't clear. He scrunched his nose when he got angry, his scar crinkling along. That's what he was doing.

"What the actual fuck?" Gavin growled. "Who the hell would do that? You gotta arrest that guy." Tina and Chris exchanged another look, this time very awkwardly.

"Actually, Gavin," Chris mumbled. "That's Austin.."

The break room went silent again. Gavin expression was blank now. He looked between Chris and the recording. A few minutes passed.

"What...?" He murmured meekly.

"That's your boyfriend, Gav." Tina hummed, unnecessarily adjusting her sleeves. Gavin looked back at the recording. He moved the time stamp to where the main attacker's face was visible. He stared closely at the figure.

"No way." Gavin murmured under his breath.

"We're really sorry Gavin." Chris apologized.

"No, No that's not real." Gavin shook his head.

"What?" Tina questioned.

"That's not Austin." Gavin growled. "He doesn't do that shit."

"Gavin, that _is_ him. We've double checked." Chris explained.

"No it's not." Gavin refused, stepping away. "Austin is a good guy. He's an ally. He doesn't beat up defenseless bartenders in the back alleyway like a fucking maniac." Gavin stormed out of the break room and out to the bathroom.

Tina and Chris glanced at each other for the third time. They both noticed his scrunched nose. Of course he was angry about this...

"What are we gonna do now??" Chris whispered.

"Gavin won't tell anyone." Tina assured. "He never breaks a pinky promise like the child he is."

"What just happened?" Jesus hrist, they couldn't catch a break could they? Tina and Chris slowly turned to see Nines standing at the entrance to the break room, Connor nervously standing behind him.

"Heyyy Nines!" Tina smiled, shutting her laptop. "Nothing, nothing happened."

"Something obviously happened, Gavin was upset." Nines replied. They can't lie to a fucking computer. "What did you show him?"

"Nothing!" Chris piped. "Nothing of importance to you!"

"I am Gavin's partner, I should know why he's upset." Nines pressed, stepping closer. Connor followed silently, fiddling with the end of his tie.

"It was nothing Nines!" Tina said, shoving her laptop back into her bag that rested on the table.

"Detective Chen." Nines deadpanned. Not the professional names, shit. "I would like to see your computer." Nines had arrived at the table at this point, Connor nervously hovering behind him. The RK900 reached out for Tina's bag, but Connor grabbed his brothers hand before he could make it anywhere near the laptop.

"Nines, don't worry. I saw it, it's nothing important, I promise! You don't need to see it, it wouldn't give anything beneficial." Connor assured. Nines stared down at his brother skeptically.

"Could I at least see a small clip of it?" Nines asked. The brothers continued to hold eye contact as the skin on their hands peeled away.

Tina assumed Connor sent over some bullshit video that was in his files because Nines seemed disinterested almost immediately. They took back their own hands and their fake skin returned. Nines looked to Tina.

"I apologize for doubting you. Have a nice day Tina." Nines walked away. The trio waited until he was back at his desk before letting out a breath that had been nervously locked in place. Connor turned to the humans beside him.

"What the hell were you two thinking, showing Detective Reed the video?" Connor asked sternly (Tina could hear the panic in his voice).

"Listen, he pinky promised. Tina replied. "Gavin never breaks a pinky promise, and I would know."

"How would you know?" Connor questioned, eyebrow raised.

"He pinky promised to never tell Valerie that I crashed the car once. He obviously kept it, because she had no idea and still doesn't know." Tina replied with a smug look on her face. Connor visibly looked annoyed.

"Okay then," He sighed, straightening himself and adjusting his tie. "now what?"

"Arrest and Kill Austin." Tina suggested, leaning back casually.

"God dammit, Tina this isn't your 18th birthday!" Chris exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. "Police can't do that anymore!" Connor looked at them confused as his LED went yellow. Then he made a face of understanding, indicating he looked up what happened when the detective was 18.

"I'm just saying, our best option is to assassinate Austin." Tina shrugged. "If Gavin gets to suspicious, I'll kidnap him myself."

"And what about Nines?" Chris asked.

"I'll kidnap him too. They'll be together, trapped in my closet." Tina replied.

"At this point, I cant tell if you two are joking." Connor commented. "Please tell me you are, because if you aren't I will have to tell Captain Fowler."

"We're joking." Chris hummed. Connor sighed of relief.

"Good, because I didn't want anyone to be killed or kidnapped."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have no idea what else to say about this other than i hope everyone is feeling good and i want everyone to know that you're amazing and i still love you platonically :)


	34. Pictures and Video

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina, Chris, and Connor come up with a plan. Nines talks to his new friends some more before finally asking Connor the question that's been bugging him for at least a week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote like three chapters in advance and my impatient ass is doing my best not to drop them all at once bc i have a schedule lmao  
> anyway this one takes place directly after last chapter :)

"We need a plan." Connor sighed, leaning on the table. "Austin Faith has actually done something bad, and we to know what to do next."

"Well, why don't we just show it to Fowler and open a case?" Chris asked.

"I have a feeling we're going to need more." Connor pointed out. "This is one recording, and one victim. Detective Reed doesn't believe it, so maybe we should find more recordings. That is, if there is anymore."

"I'll tell North." Tina said, digging her phone out of her pocket.

"No," Connor said, holding a hand up. "I'll tell her. I was planning to go to New Jericho anyway. I just needed to come and check in with Hank and Captain Fowler before I left."

"Okay." Tina complied. "What about Nines? I don't think he should even be here honestly. Whatever video you showed him isn't what Gavin saw. He's going to ask Gavin why he was upset, and Gavin's going to explain. And before you say something about the pinky promise, Gavin literally cannot lie to Nines. That android is a lie detector. Anyway, if you're not here to break him away, then what's gonna stop him from searching my laptop and finding out the truth?"

"Yeah, our whole plan could fall apart from Nines' panic!" Chris added. "No matter how good of a liar Gavin is, he can't lie to a lie detecting android."

"I'll take him with me. He's already made some friends at Jericho." Connor explained. "A few permanent residents that he likes."

"That's perfect!" Tina smiled. "Honestly, he needs it."

"Exactly." Connor agreed. Chris nodded in agreement as well. A silenced passed as Connor ran a hand through his hair and the humans calmed down from the double surprise. As the group's panic decreased, Tina and Chris noticed Connor's lack of coin tricks. He used to do those to de-stress... In fact, the more Tina thought about it, he hasn't tossed a quarter around since Nines arrived at the DPD....

"Hey, whatever happened to that coin you played around with?" Tina asked. "I haven't see you do something with it in forever." Connor's LED went yellow as he thought for a moment. He shrugged.

"I stopped using it I guess." Connor hummed.

"I heard from Hank that you used it all the time up until Nines came home with you." Chris commented.

"Coincidence." He replied.

"Really?" Tina urged. The human detective noticed Connor's fingers twitching before he manually forced them to stop. The android was silent for a bit, staring off at the wall. He blinked before sighing.

"The first thing Nines actually said to me was that the noises my coin was making were annoying." Connor admitted. "I felt bad, so I stopped."

"Dude, wasn't your coin how you, like, calibrated or something?" Chris asked. "I'm pretty sure you need to calibrate and stuff. It's like a fidget toy!"

"Yes, but I found other ways. They don't work as well, but they work." Connor shrugged.

"Don't work as well? What does that mean?" Tina asked.

"Each generation of RK800s were programmed with something to help them calibrate and bring their stress levels down. My generation had a coin, the one before me had some sort of bracelet, etcetera." Connor explained. "We can use anything to calibrate or destress, but the thing we were programmed with would work the best."

"So what do you do now?" Chris asked.

"Whatever works at the time." Connor said.

"Well, if the coin works best then just keep using it." Tina concluded. "Nines is your brother now, you can say no to him. Don't be a pushover." Connor stared at Tina in consideration.

"I'll think about it." Connor said. "I should get going to Jericho. Have a nice day." The android gave a smile before walking away to retrieve his brother. Tina and Chris turned back to the laptop, preparing to wait for North to send more recording.

————

Connor and Nines' taxi pulled up to New Jericho again. Nines had refused to come along at first, saying that he had a bunch of work to do. Connor just had to remind him that he was an android and could catch up with everything later to make him comply to coming along.

Even then, Nines reluctantly followed Connor into the New Jericho building. The pair walked down the west hallway and entered the courtyard doors. The courtyard now had inch fences surrounding the stone pathway, as well as stakes in the soil. Markus, North, and multiple other androids were standing in the middle.

"Echo, Ripple, and Ralph should be in the cafeteria." Connor said. "I'll be busy here if you need me." Nines nodded and disappeared behind the doors and down the hallway. Connor quietly strode up to the group and connected with North.

_"Tina and Chris need more footage to open a case. Do you have anything else?"_

**_"Luckily for them, I spent a bunch of time this morning looking for more."_ **

There was a pause before North spoke again.

 **_"I just sent it over. There should be_ ** **_stuff_ ** **_in there. Not completely sure though."_ **

_"Thank you. Remember, don't raise any suspicion."_

**_"Got it."_ **

Meanwhile, in the cafeteria, Nines had entered the doors. He immediately spotted his friends and walked over. Friends... That was something he didn't think he'd ever say about this group....

"Hey Nines!" Ripple greeted.

"Friend Nines is back!" Ralph cheered, clapping his hands.

"Nice to see you again Nines." Echo smiled.

"Good Afternoon." Nines greeted, sitting next to Ralph like he had done last time. "How are all of you today?"

"Very good!" Ralph grinned. "Ralph talked to Kara and her little girl earlier! They are having a good time in Canada! Now Nines is here and Ralph's day got better!" Nines' slight smile grew at the last part.

"Me and Ripple have been good too." Echo added. "We're looking into getting jobs to maybe start sustaining ourselves."

"That's great." Nines hummed.

"Yeah, Jericho is amazing, but having our own place would be awesome." Ripple commented.

"I think you two you would be very happy in a house." Nines agreed.

"Good to know." Echo laughed. "How've you been Nines?"

"Well, I've been okay." The RK shrugged. "My partner finally started working again only for me to get dragged away. We need to work together for our partnership to stay functional yet people just pull us apart like children's toys."

"That sucks." Ripple hummed.

"It does." Nines nodded.

"Who's your partner?" Echo asked.

"Detective Gavin Reed." Nines answered. "He may be rude at first impressions but underneath he's a nice guy. He has three cats."

"I've always wanted a cat!" Ripple exclaimed.

"Ralph has too! Cats are soft!" Ralph added.

"Here," Nines placed one of his hands on the table, palm up, and projected a photo of Bobo. The image was one that Gavin had sent him of the silver cat staring out the sliding door. "This is Bobo, one of Reed's cats. The oldest at the moment. He loves attention."

"Adorable!!!"

"So cute."

"Soft!!"

Nines switched the image to one of Turnip. This picture was Tina holding the Devon Rex, said cat purring happily in her arms. "This is Turnip. She loves being held and has a thing for both human and synthetic hair."

"Cute!!!"

"That's hilarious!"

"Soft!!"

Nines switched it one last time, this time was Meeko. The image was from Nines' memory, the small kitten staring up at Nines while sitting in the android's hands. "This is Meeko, the youngest. The last time I saw him, he was the size of my hands. He might have grown a little."

"THAT IS SO ADORABLE!!"

"Oh, he's precious!"

"Softest!!!!"

Nines stopped the projection and took back his hand. "They're really sweet cats. Connor and Hank have a big dog, so the felines are a nice change."

"Ralph wants a cat like Meeko!" Ralph exclaimed. "Very fluffy!! Soft!"

"Meeko is a Maine Coon. They get rather big. I think you'd like one, Ralph." Nines commented.

"Ralph wants one!" He repeated.

"Those were all so cute! You're lucky to have a partner with adorable cats!" Ripple squealed.

"Thank god Androids can't have allergies." Echo joked. "I feel bad for the humans that do."

———

The quartet of androids strolled down the hallway Nines had come together, talking about their first experiences at Jericho. Nines learned that the first thing Echo and Ripple had done was cuddle while watching a movie, and if that wasn't what humans called "tooth-rotting sweet" then Nines didn't know what is. As the group laughed, Connor appeared in the doorway to the courtyard.

"Oh! Hello Nines! Echo, Ripple, Ralph." Connor greeted. "How are you guys doing?"

"We're good." Echo answered.

"Nines showed Ralph, Echo, and Ripple pictures of his partner's cats!" Ralph added, excitedly. "Ralph wants a cat!"

"That cool! I'm sure you'd be great with a cat, Ralph." Connor smiled.

"Connor, may I talk to you privately?" Nines asked, gently grabbing his brother's arm.

"Oh? Yeah, of course!" Connor nodded. Nines noticed his stress levels spike, but he didn't say anything.

"I'll be back." Nines said to his friends.

"We'll be here!" Echo replied as Nines began pulling Connor away. The brothers walked all the way down to the end of the hallway, they stood in a corner where no android would be without suspicion. Nines stared down at Connor for a brief moment before speaking.

"Why are you making me avoid Gavin?" He asked, sternly.

"I'm not!" Connor said, slightly hesitating.

"You know I can detect lies." Nines stated.

"I'm not lying!" Connor exclaimed. The brothers went quiet for a minute.

"You're a really bad liar." Nines frowned. "Why are you doing this?" Connor's eyes were locked on the wall behind Nines has his LED circled yellow, trying to find the correct words to say. The RK800 sighed before speaking.

"You.....You'd freak out if I told you." Connor admitted.

"I won't." Nines said back. "What is happening?" Connor shook his head.

"I can't." He mumbled.

"What is stopping you?" Nines pressured. "Why are you keeping me away from Gavin? We're partners! We need to work together!" Connor shook his head again.

"I can't tell you." Nines let out a sigh through his nose before firmly placing his hands on his brother's shoulders.

"Detective Reed is my assigned partner. I don't care if he's currently in a relationship, we need to work together to solve cases. That is literally our job." Nines said, frustrated when Connor avoided eye contact. The older brother squirmed a little in Nines' grasp. "I need to know why you're being so protective over me. I won't 'freak out'. I promise."

Connor's LED stayed a cycling yellow, flickering red a few times.

"I can't." The RK800 concluded. He pried Nines' arms off his shoulders and quickly walked away. Nines frowned as his brother disappeared back into the courtyard, not bothering to say anything to Echo, Ripple, or Ralph. Nines decided to go to his last resort.

**Me** : _"I saw you were upset earlier. Are you alright?"_

 **Gavin** : _"im fine"_

The way Gavin texted irritated Nines immensely, but it was endearing in some sort of way. Nines decided to drop the metaphorical bomb.

**Me** : _"I saw the video."_

 **Gavin** : _"i already told tina, it couldn't be austin. hes not like that."_

 **Me** : _"What did the video have anything to do with Austin?"_

 **Gavin** : _"?"_

 **Me** : _"That video had nothing to do with him."_

 **Gavin** : _"are we talking about the same video here or are you just REALLY on my side that the person beating up that bartender wasn't austin?"_

 **Me** : _"Beating up a bartender??"_

 **Gavin** : _"im going to assume that we didnt see the same video then"_

 **Me** : _"_ _..._ _I'll be right back."_

"CONNOR!" Nines yelled angrily, quickly walking down the hallway taking the exact same steps that his brother had took. Nines was going to kill him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i swear the coin thing will be relevant later


	35. "dum-dum android related thing"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina and Chris show Captain Fowler their findings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> actual note haha - this chapter happens at the same time as the pervious one! this one starts around the timeskip from the last chapter :)

It had been about two and a half hours since North sent over more footage. Chris and Tina had been analyzing everything that she had sent. North must have hit the jackpot because everything she sent over was proving Austin wasn't guilty. They found footage of him setting out cigarettes on an android's arm, footage of him bashing an android's head into a wall, and all sorts of footage of him nearly getting caught. Both Chris and Tina knew that this was absolutely horrible, their friend was dating a secret android abuser. It was even worse that Gavin didn't believe them.

"Seventeen clips." Chris announced, closing the last piece of footage. "Seventeen clips of Austin Faith hurting innocent androids. Two others with him every time."

"I knew something was up with Austin, but I didn't expect it to be this bad..." Tina sighed. "I feel like absolute shit. The intention of this was to get them to break up,"

"Now Austin will most likely get arrested?" Chris offered.

"Yeah, and I feel horrible for Gavin..." Tina drummed her fingers on the edge of her laptop. "He doesn't deserve this."

"He doesn't." Chris agreed. "Nathan was enough." Tina nodded and they fell to silence. Chris pulled out his phone and quietly texted North and Connor, saying that they were going to tell Fowler in a few minutes. North replied back that Nines still had no idea, which was good news. After a minute of silence passed, Tina closed her laptop and held it close to her chest in protection.

"We should probably go talk to Fowler now?" Tina asked. Chris nodded. The pair slowly walked out to the bullpen, glancing around for Gavin. He was sitting at his desk, busying himself with work. Tina and Chris made sure to walk behind Officer Person's desk to avoid a confrontation with the detective.

Both Tina and Chris wanted to try and convince Gavin that it was Austin and now there was indisputable proof. Unfortunately, Gavin would probably lash out. He was extremely upset...

Chris knocked on their Captain's glass door, and the man gave them the OK to come in. The pair shuffled into the room, making sure the door was fully closed before stepping any closer.

"Captain," Chris started. "We need to talk to you about one of SWAT Captain Allen's men." Fowler raised a confused eyebrow.

"Getting straight to the point, huh Miller?" Fowler hummed, turning away from his terminal. "What is it?" Tina stepped forward and placed her laptop down on the desk. She opened it and made sure the file filled with The Footage was front and center before spinning it around to show Captain Fowler.

"We were looking through security footage for one of the Jericho leaders and found these." Chris half-lied. Tina didn't know if Chris was aware it was partly true.

Valarie, who was a receptionist at Jericho, had told Tina that Simon was dealing with a lot of abuse cases recently. Said abuse cases had no directly stated abuser, but the location was confirmed. Easily enough, the android officers had been looking into a few security cameras the stated locations.

"Using the newer face tracking technology, we've identified this as the SWAT sniper Austin Faith." Chris continued. "He's apart of Captain Allen's team, Unit 32." Captain Fowler clicked on the first security footage. His brows furrowed as he watched it. And the next one. And the next one.

"You sure this is Faith?" Fowler asked, skimming through another recording. "That kid's a perfect ally."

"We're positive." Tina answered. "That technology was updated by androids who, as you know, have perfect face tracking and scanning abilities." Captain Fowler went silent again, quietly looking at the next recording. A few anxious minutes passed by before Fowler stood from his desk and walked to the door.

"REED." He called. The Detective was startled out of texting a message. "My office, now." Fowler was back at his desk by the time Gavin entered the glass office. Said glass darkened and went opaque when Gavin shut the door.

"What's going on?" Gavin asked, ignoring Chris and Tina.

"I would like you to look at these." Fowler spun Tina's laptop around as Gavin sat down in the chair in front of his captain's desk. The first video played.

"I already saw this." Gavin mumbled. Fowler switched the video to the next recording and hit play. Gavin frowned as the footage played. Tina was grateful that the sound on her laptop were off. She didn't want to listen to androids yell in pain. Her brain kept imagining those abused androids as Valarie, and it hurt...

Gavin stared blankly as the videos played. Each of them showing Austin and his two buddies beating up an innocent android model. Chris was glad none of them were child models. Even if his kid wasn't an android, it still scared him that it was a possibility that Damien could be hurt like that someday. It hurt...

As the final video ended, Gavin gave a blank stare up at Fowler.

"Do you know who any of those people are, Reed?" Fowler asked. Tina could tell Gavin was holding back an eye roll.

"I don't." He mumbled.

"Are you sure?" Fowler asked. "From my understanding, you're very close to Austin Faith."

"That isn't Austin." Gavin retaliated, poison in his voice.

"Android technology doesn't lie, Reed." Fowler replied. "You would know since you're partners with an Android."

"That isn't Austin." Gavin repeated. "He doesn't do that. He's an ally." Tina could tell Gavin was desperately trying not to look angry. He wasn't doing a great job, but there was an attempt.

"Then who is it?" Fowler asked.

"Some dickwad that needs to be arrested." Gavin hissed. "It's not my....It's not Austin." Fowler gave a disappointed frown at the Detective before turning to Tina and Chris.

"We'll open a case. You can go ahead and start investigating." He said. "All three of you are dismissed." Tina retrieved her laptop as Gavin stood. Tina was expecting Gavin to throw a fit or something, but he just stormed out of the room. Tina and Chris followed, only to find Gavin had disappeared.

Tina followed Chris to his desk. Even as a Detective, Tina preferred to not use a desk. She had denied Officer Person's offer to have her desk, but it wasn't a surprise to anyone. Tina never stopped moving, even as a Detective.

"I hope Gavin's going to be okay." Chris said, turning on his computer.

"Me too." Tina said, unlocking her phone to text Connor and North. The pair went silent.

Meanwhile, Gavin was outside, leaning against his car. A cigarette was hanging out of his mouth as he stared at his text messages screen. Nines hadn't texted him back yet. Before he realized it, he was typing out something to send to Austin. His finger hovered over the send button.

Did he want to send this? Gavin took a drag of his cigarette as he considered. In the end, he pushed the button.

**Me** : _"tina just opened a case about something that she says involves you. expect to be called in for interrogation soon."_

**Austin** : _"rlly? what is it?"_

**Me** : _"just some dum-dum android related thing. i told her you were fine but she doesn't listen"_

**Austin** : _"oh ok"_

Gavin exited his boyfriend's contact and stared at Nines'. Still nothing back. He was at Jericho, so he was probably busy. After all, Connor in charge of building an entire fucking courtyard garden so Nines was probably being forced to help.

Suddenly, another text appeared from Austin.

**Austin** : _"would the case happen to involve a guy named Jonathan Walkers ? maybe a Garret Marsh?"_

**Me** : _"i don't know, i'm not on the case"_

**Austin** : _"oh"_

**Me** : _"i'll let you know if i do find something bout them tho"_

**Austin** : _"thank u :)"_

**Me** : _"who r jonathan and garret?"_

**Austin** : _"just some friends, nothing you need to worry about ;)"_

**Me** : _"haha okay"_

Gavin exited his boyfriend's chat and looked at Nines' again. He pocketed his phone after a minute after accepting that he was probably busy with something. Gavin took another drag of his cigarette.

Tina didn't take in the fact that Austin had spoken out for Androids multiple times. Him hurting androids wouldn't make any sense. Plus, he works with a bunch of them. No way would Austin ever hurt an android on purpose.

Gavin's phone buzzed. He was hoping it was a text from Nines or Austin. However, when he checked, it was just Tina.

**Tina** : _"remember the revolution anniversary party in two weeks. you're coming wether you like it or not bitch~"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah i haven't forgotten about the revolution party haha  
> it's not gonna be as plot relevant as other events but i think it's still worth adding  
> anyway i hope everyone's safe !! i love you platonically :)


	36. The Anderson Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines lashes out at his brother, and eventually finds himself running away from Jericho. Him and Hank have a father-son moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oooh boy i've been waiting for this one
> 
> this has a few flashbacks so anything that is in italics and is encased by "~~~" is a flashback :)  
> (i am not good at writing emotions so bare with me haha)

"CONNOR!" Nines yelled angrily, quickly walking down the hallway, taking the exact same steps that his brother had took. _Nines was going to kill him_. He was filled with anger as he stormed past his worried friends and slammed open the courtyard door.

Connor flinched as the door made a loud bang against the wall. The RK800 slowly turned around. North, Markus, and the other volunteer androids stared at the two of them. Ripple and Ralph stood meekly behind Echo (which looked ridiculous because Ralph was a head taller than both of them).

"What Did Detective Reed See?" Nines' question was more like a statement. Connor was obviously trying to stay calm, but Nines saw his stress levels spike to 87%.

"I..." Connor's voice seemed like it cut itself off. North glanced between the brothers before carefully stepping forward, in front of Connor.

"Let's not start a fight here! We need you both alive!" North exclaimed with a nervous laugh.

"Strong words for someone who wanted to kill the entire human race." Nines shot back. The RK900 power walked at Connor. The RK800 looked terrified. North stood in between her friends, glaring up at Nines.

"No. You're not going to hurt him." North hissed. Nines' eyes narrowed. He saw North's stress levels go to 73%, but she didn't stand down. "That's not you anymore."

It wasn't. He moved past that phase. He had already hurt Connor once, and he told himself he wouldn't do it again. But Deviancy was a weird thing.

Nines placed a hand on North's shoulder and pushed her aside. The WR400 stumbled away, a miscellaneous android dashing forward to catch her. Connor stared up at his brother, Nines stared back.

"I'm giving you one last chance to explain." Nines growled.

Nines almost regretted what he was doing because Connor gave him his "puppy dog eyes" as the lieutenant had dubbed it.

Connor stared for a minute before taking something out of his jacket's pocket. Nines was confused until the RK800 pulled out a quarter, beginning to flick the coin between his hands. The small click of the coin on Connor's synthetic skin made Nines' ears metaphorically bleed.

The whole courtyard was silent other than the small click of the coin.

Nines yelled in anger before his hand shot up to his brother's throat, holding his brother a foot off the ground. The coin fell to the floor with another clink.

"WHAT DID YOU DO." Nines yelled. Connor just cried out, voice slightly staticky, pulling at his brother's hand.

"NINES, STOP!!" Markus yelled, attempting to pull at the RK900's arm. Nines shoved Markus aside, the deviant leader falling on his ass.

"ANSWER ME RK800." Nines yelled again. Connor attempted to kick a Nines, but nothing happened. "WHAT DID YOU DO." The other androids in the area tried to pull at Nines' hand, desperately trying to make him let go, but the RK was the strongest android ever made. It was no use trying.

Connor squirmed in Nines grasp, desperately clawing at Nines' hand around his throat. As the other androids attempted to make Nines' hand release, an ear bleeding static came from Connor's voice box. Said static made every android let go of Nines, slamming their hands over their ears. Nines still burned with rage until he managed to make out what Connor was trying to say.

"S̶T̴O̵P̶,̵ ̷S̷T̴O̸P̶,̴ ̵P̸L̵E̴A̴S̷E̸ ̷Y̷O̴U̵'̴R̵E̸ ̷H̶U̵R̶T̷I̶N̸G̴ ̵M̵E̶!!"

~~~

_The entire room went silent in shock as RK900 held Connor against the wall, pinned by his neck. RK900's icey eyes burned into Connor, and it seemed like if he stared long enough, that would happen._

_It wasn't until Connor began to squirm_ _and squeal_ _that the silence was broken. Markus, Simon, Josh, and North all moved forward_ _with yells_ _to try and pry RK900 off of their friend. This guy was made of titanium so why were they even trying?_

_Nevertheless, the group pulled at the android, trying to remove his hand from Connor's neck. After a minute of yelling from everyone but RK900, Connor opened his mouth. Instead of a coherent sentence, a burst of static filled the room. Simon and Josh stepped away, covering their ears from the bloodcurdling screech. North and Markus flinched at the noise, but didn't back down._

_RK900 didn't bother to pay attention to the Jericho Leaders that stood by him, staying put where he was. Then, he realized what Connor was trying to say._

_"_ _9̸̩̋0̶͒ͅ_ _0̸̰̏_ _̷̼̈Ș̷̄T̶̫̊O̴̠̽P̸͕͋,̴̺̂ ̴̥͛P̷̫̚L̴̬͆Ē̸͙A̸͈͒S̴̜͝Ȇ̵̬ ̵̆ͅS̷̙̑T̴̼̉O̶̰͂P̵̭̂,̴͇͗ ̵̩̇Y̵͎̋Ǫ̵͆U̸̲̔'̶̙͘R̸̟̈Ë̶͜ ̷̖͝H̸̡̛U̶̪͋R̵̗͠Ť̵̺Į̶̚N̴̹͌G̶̣͘ ̵̯̓M̵̡̅E̶̦͒_ _!!"_

~~~

Nines let go. Connor fell to the ground, coughing and wheezing, despite not needing to breathe. The RK900 stepped away, staring down at his brother. Markus and North kneeled next to Connor, attempting to help him calm down.

Suddenly everything felt loud. The panicked breaths of his brother were horrible, the birds flying above made him want to scream, and the slightest move of a shoe made his head hurt.

Nines spun around and dashed away. Pushing past Echo, Ripple, and Ralph who had been staring absolute terror in their eyes at the doorway. Nines didn't know where he was running, but he was running. He had apparently run out of Jericho because he heard the desperate calls of North and Simon but that did nothing. He kept running.

He was the strongest android in the world. There was no stopping him.

_He was the strongest android in the world. And he had hurt his brother._

He had nearly crushed Connor's artificial windpipe like a twig. Again.

He felt _horrible_. 

~~~

_RK900 stared out the window. The Jericho Parking lot was laid out to him. He spotted a manual car park in one of the closest open spots, and out stepped an elderly man. He was about in his 50s, and from what RK900 gathered, he was in a hurry to get somewhere. RK900, however, wasn't in a hurry._

_He could stay in this room for hours. This was the room he had been told was "his room". It was similar to a human hospital room, or at least that's what he saw when he looked it up. RK800, or Connor, told him that this was the room that TR600, or Valarie, had checked him into. He was told he could customize it as much as he wanted, but RK900 didn't bother. He didn't want to be here. Especially with how he reacted to Connor's coin._

_As RK900 continued to stare out the window, his door clicked open. He wondered if it was Connor, coming to play with his coin more to annoy him. However, it was just North. She was probably the one RK900 liked the most out of the group of Deviant Leaders._

_"So..." North started. "That happened, huh?" RK900 stayed silent._

_How was he supposed to reply to that? Deviancy didn't make any sense, and he had been deviant all his life (though it had only been 24 hours)._

_"Look, Connor feels bad for annoying you with his coin so he might come in to apologize." North explained._

_"Why would RK800 need to apologize to me?" RK900 asked._

_"I think that's nice of you—?"_

_"He was being annoying. I was only speaking the truth."_

_The room went silent._

_RK900 hated the silence._

_He hated it. He hated it._ **_He hated it._ **

_So he hummed._

_There was a song that he had heard Simon sing when he was calming Connor down from the surprise neck grab. He hadn't heard the whole thing, but he could tell what the rest of the song was supposed to be from a quick internet search._

_So he hummed it. He gently hummed the song that Simon had sung. It was better than silence. He could sense that North was surprised by the random noise, which made sense since the only things he had said for the past 24 hours were salty insults._

_RK900 continued to hum the song. He knew the lyrics, but didn't bother singing it. Humming the tune was enough._

_"How do you know that song?" North asked._

_"I heard PL600 singing it." RK900 said before resuming the tune. North listened to the android hum softly. She knew the lyrics. She could sing or hum along if she wanted to._

_She waited for a break in the song before adding her own voice_ _for the final verse._

_"Sing on just a little while longer," North began. She saw RK900 glance back at her, but he didn't object and just kept humming along. "Sing on just a little while longer. Sing on just a little while longer,"_

_"Everything will be alright..." RK900 sang. North didn't expect him to actually sing, but that was fine._

_"Everything will be," The two of them sang together, holding the last note for the exact same amount of time._

_"Alright..." RK900 finished._

~~~

Nines fell down onto the ground. The concrete below him was rough, but he was fine. He just felt like absolute shit. He just wanted to curl into a ball and die, right there on the spot.

Before, it was excusable but now it wasn't. He was going to get charged for assault or something, and he'd get arrested. His badge would get taken away and he'd never be able to see Connor again. He'd never be able to see North, or Ripple, Echo, and Ralph. He'd never be able to see Hank and Sumo. He'd never be able to see _Gavin_ again. They'd hate him for what he did, even if he was blinded by anger. That wasn't really an excuse.

It didn't occur to Nines that he was saying all this stuff out loud until a pair of shoes scuffed beside him. He looked over and found Lieutenant Anderson staring off at the Ambassador Bridge, the Detroit River flowing beneath them.

"I didn't know you cared that much." Hank smirked once he felt Nines staring up at him. "Here, you left this at your desk." Hank shifted and dropped a jacket onto Nines' head. It was his CyberLife jacket. He didn't realize he had forgotten it.

"Thank you." Nines murmured, quietly slipping the jacket on. He didn't know why he still wore the jacket, it wasn't like he cared for CyberLife. It was more of a comfort item than an ode to the company that created him.

"I dunno if you were planning to come back or not, and it's gettin' pretty chilly out." Hank shrugged.

"I can't feel temperature." Nines pointed out.

"You could, you just decided not to." Hank corrected, turning to stare a the bridge again. Right. He had forgotten about that. "So why'd you run all the way to Riverside Park of all places?" Nines shrugged, burying his face in the collar of his jacket.

"I just started running." Nines replied.

"I get that."

"You do? How?" Nines questioned, glancing up at the lieutenant.

"'Did it all the time as a teen. Fowler did too, believe it or not." He answered. "And if I remember correctly, Reed as well."

"Really?"

"Yup. He said that back in Ohio, he'd skip class and just start running." Hank let out a small laugh. "That kid really is something. Dunno why you like him so much."

"You know about that?" Nines asked, slightly panicked. "Who told you?"

"Nah kid, I put it together myself. I haven't told a soul." Hank said. Nines let out a sigh before snuggling back into his jacket, pulling his knees to his chest. The two stayed in silence. How had Hank even known he was here? Was it some weird honorary family thing, or did someone track him? At this point, Nines didn't care.

A small breeze passed by as they stayed in silence. Nines didn't like the silence, but there was enough background noise that he didn't really care that much. That's how silences always went with him. Whenever there was background noise he wouldn't complain.

"I have lots of memories here." Hank mentioned.

"What kind?" Nines asked, staring over at the graveyard of a playground. He had a feeling he knew what the Lieutenant was talking about.

"Good and Bad. Some with Cole, some with Connor," Hank let out a breath of a laugh. "And now, some with my third son." Hank glanced down at Nines, who was staring up at him.

"Son?" Nines repeated back. "You don't have a third son. Or at least, I'm not aware of him." Hank stared down at Nines for one more second before letting out a hearty laugh.

"It's you dumbass." Hank kicked Nines' arm as he finished laughing. Nines continued to stare at Hank as he looked back at the River.

"I thought I was just an honorary Anderson..." Nines mumbled.

"You don't have to be, kid. You've said yourself that Connor is your older brother. At this point, there's not much of a difference between actual and honorary." Nines stared back at the playground. It looked like no kid has played on it in years. That'd make sense. Connor had mentioned that it was a place that Hank and Cole went to together and it was usually empty.

"You didn't elaborate on what memories you had here." Nines reminded. Hank let out a small hum.

"Lot's of Cole playing on the playground. He loved this place." Hank replied. "The first time I came here with Connor I almost shot him. That was something. The next time we came here it was a lot better, I'll tell you that." Nines smiled a little. Nines had only seen pictures of Cole, but judging by how he was described, he was a great kid. Nines kind of wished he was able to meet him.

"Was Cole a good kid?" Nines questioned, eyes still trained on the playground.

"Oh yeah. He was a lot like Connor." Hank replied. Nines was glad the lieutenant had healed enough to tell him this. He liked listening to Hank talk. "Cole loved Sumo with his life, he never stopped talking, and he was so smart."

"So what you're saying, is Connor acts like a child?"

"You're not wrong!"

The two of them laughed and another, more comfortable, silence passed over them. A few leaves fell to the ground. It was only a week until November, and two weeks until the Revolution's anniversary. Plus the Revolution's anniversary party that Connor was helping with. Nines had been to two birthday parties, but that was it. He would count Connor's "birthday", but that wasn't really a party since it was just Connor, Hank, Sumo, and himself.

"You wanna get going?" Hank asked after a minute or two.

"Can you take me back to Jericho please?"

"'Course kid. C'mon." Hank left the railing and headed towards his car that was parked in the parking lot. As Nines stood he spotted something shiny out of the corner of his eye, something sitting on the pavement. He slowly walked over to it and kneeled down. It was a quarter.

He picked it up and shoved it in his pocket before standing and following Hank to his car.

———

Hank's car pulled up to the entrance of Jericho. He needed to get back to the precinct, so he wasn't going to follow Nines in. The android unbuckled his seatbelt and was about to get out of the car before turning to look at Hank.

"How'd you know where I was?" He asked.

"I don't know. I just had a feeling you'd be there." Hank shrugged. "Connor and I go there to cool off all the time."

"I guess it runs in the family then." Nines gave one last smile before standing and exiting the car. The RK900 stood by the doors and watched Hank's car leave. He watched it disappear into the distance. He was trying to drag out not seeing Connor for as long as possible.

As soon as Hank's car was out of view, Nines sighed and turned around. Pushing the doors to New Jericho open. As he entered, half the people in the waiting room turned to look at him. Some he recognized as the volunteer androids that were in the courtyard while others were just random androids he didn't know. There was no sign of Ripple, Echo, or Ralph.

Luckily (or unluckily depending on how you look at it), Connor was standing in front of the receptionist desk. Markus, North, and Simon stood with him. Knowing Josh, he was probably far too busy with maintenance checks to come and join the rest of the leaders. Nines quietly walked towards the receptionist desk.

Nines was glad Valarie wasn't working today, because she'd definitely tell Tina about what he was about to do. Nines was now behind Connor, who still hadn't noticed his presence (somehow).

He hugged him.

"Wh--?" Connor almost questioned. He was obviously confused, but once he realized it was Nines' arms that were wrapped around his shoulders, he didn't care. "Hey Nines." Nines hummed moving his head so his forehead rested on Connor's shoulder.

"M'sorry." Nines muttered. He didn't mean to apologize like that, in fact he was planning an apology speech in his head on the way over. It just came out like that. Maybe it was the fact that he was hugging someone.

"It's okay." Connor hummed leaning his head on Nines'.

"It's really not." Nines mumbled back. "Last time there was an excuse."

"And there is this time too."

"No there isn't."

"Yes there is."

"What is it then?"

"You were angry."

"That's not an excuse."

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't."

"It is to me."

"Well, it's not to me"

"But you're the one apologizing?" Connor let out a small laugh. "I say it's an excuse. No need to say sorry." Nines knew that this back and forth could go on for forever, so he dropped it.

Fine. It was an excuse.

...

"I'm still sorry."

"God, will you guys PLEASE shut up."

"Sorry North, but this is the Anderson way."

"Endless bickering? God, I hate you guys..."

"I love you too, North."

"Fuck off Nines."

With a small laugh, Nines stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out the quarter. He carefully slipped in into Connor's pocket, the RK800 not noticing. He'd get use to the clinking eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> quick actual note here -- nines has no fucking clue how to handle anger. he's only been alive for like three months so of course he'll act all aggressive to connor (his brother and someone he trusts deeply) lying to him (about something important btw). he doesn't want to act violent but his emotions take over. he doesn't know how to control it yet :( 
> 
> (also maybe connor is a little bit traumatized from the one and only other time when nines attacked him but thats another story for another day)


	37. November, 2039

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a week, and Tina is finally able to interrogate Austin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~I don't like this chapter very much~  
> anyway here we go

It had been a week since Austin's case had been opened. Tina led the case, Chris and a few other officers assigned to help. Tina interrogated each victim or possible witness, making sure to be extra careful as to not trigger anything from them. She couldn't imagine what kind of trauma they went through, having a self-proclaimed "ally" beat them up in an alleyway... Two of them even knew Austin, having been SWAT members before the Revolution.

Either way, each victim answered with the same names.

Johnathan Walkers, Garret Marsh, and Austin Faith.

With a quick check from Connor, Walkers and Marsh were confirmed to be the two other abusers with Austin. With this newfound information and every victim from the security footage confirming what they saw, Tina decided it was time to interrogate Austin and his friends.

She had attempted to interrogate Johnathan and Garret with the help of Connor and Nines, but they wouldn't say anything. Even when the androids left the room, neither abuser confirmed nor denied what they did. They held to their 5th amendment right to stay silent.

It did upset Tina that all this work was going to be for nothing if she didn't get anything out of Austin. He'd probably try and lie, saying that whatever she saw in the cameras wasn't true. Then again, lying would be useless when there was two living lie detectors in the room. Maybe that's why the other two weren't saying anything. They knew the RK brothers were lie detectors, and they didn't want to risk the truth getting out. Smart motherfuckers.

Tina had scheduled Austin's interrogation on a day where Gavin was supposed to be out at a crime scene. Nines was also supposed to be going seeing as he was Gavin's partner, but Nines and Fowler agreed that he'd be beneficial to the interrogation seeing as his lie detectors were more advanced than Connor's. And due to technically being apart of the case, Nines had to know everything. Though this did fill the RK900 with panic as he watched the videos, he promised not to do anything drastic. So, he got to stay. Nines didn't like it, but he seemed to know that if he stayed around Gavin things would get awkward.

Gavin had been acting weird anyway. He hadn't been talking to Tina, Connor, or Chris, only giving the occasional answer to Nines. He seemed paranoid, like that the only reason Tina was doing this was because she didn't like Austin. Which, was originally the case but not anymore. This was far more serious. Now that Tina knew what was actually going on, the thought that this was originally about Nines hadn't crossed her mind.

Gavin had been absent a lot anyway. She hadn't seen a lot of him since she had shown him the recording. It was like he was purposely avoiding her, and that made sense. Tina knew that despite how he was acting now, he'd get over it. She had known the guy since High School. She had moved to Detroit with this man, of course she knew what his emotional patterns were. He'd get angry, avoid talking to the person he was mad at, then afterwards he'd act like nothing happened. Tina didn't quite understand it, but it was how Gavin worked.

When the day of Austin's interrogation rolled around, Tina entered the bullpen nervous. She didn't know why, Austin was a nice guy. Or, at least she had thought that. She didn't know what to think of him anymore. Chris had come up to her when she entered, saying Austin was already in the Interrogation Room, ready for Tina. As Chris led her over, Gavin stood and left. Seems like he didn't want _anything_ to do with her case.

Tina entered the Interrogation Room and Chris entered the Observation Room. She knew Officer Selina and Officer Morris were going to be watching as well. As Tina entered, and she saw Austin sitting patiently at the table. Connor was stood at the side of the table, skimming the case file held in one hand and flipping a quarter in the other. Tina smiled at the clinks the coin made. Behind Connor, Nines was leaning against the wall, glaring daggers in the back of Austin's head.

The human was definitely aware of this, seeing as he was getting increasingly more uncomfortable.

"Hello, Austin." Tina smiled as the door shut. She strode to the chair opposite the SWAT member at sat down. Connor closed the file and slid it to Tina. She didn't need to look at it, everything was already burned in her memory.

"Hey Tina. Or, well, Detective Chen." Austin replied. Tina appreciated the effort to be formal.

"Nice to see you." Tina made sure to leave no room for Austin to speak. "Now, we've got a lot of evidence pointing to you and two of your good friends being involved in android abuse. Said friends being Johnathan Walkers and Garret Marsh. What do you have to say about that?"

"It's true." Austin replied. The room was silent.

"I'm sorry, what?" Nines asked.

"It's true." Austin repeated. "Me, John, and Garret did hurt those androids. I feel like shit for it, but we did." Judging from Nines and Connor's expressions, he was telling the truth. Tina could feel the uncomfortable air coming from brothers. She could tell that even the officers in the Observation Room were uncomfortable.

"Care to elaborate?" Tina questioned. Why was this so easy? There had to be more to this!

"The jist of it is that we were getting paid." Austin explained. "We didn't want to do it, but a few extra bucks couldn't hurt anyone! It was really John's idea to go along, I just happened to do most of the work. Nobody was supposed to know, but I guess you found the recording somehow. We didn't even know that security was watching us."

"Tina, could I?" Connor piped.

"Go ahead." Tina nodded.

"Thank you." Connor smiled before turning to the SWAT member. "You decided to harm androids just to get more money? I assumed Captain Allen gave fair pay."

"He does. The SWAT is great, but when you're not on duty it gets a little... boring." Austin shrugged.

"Why are you making this so easy?" Nines added, venom in his voice.

"There's not really a point in lying at this point. You guys have the recordings and everything's been confirmed. It's not like I _can_ lie." Austin leaned back in his chair a little. It was still weird seeing a guilty person be so submissive.

"Your boyfriend seems to disbelieve it." Tina answered. Austin's expression shifted to hurt at the mention of Gavin.

"Oh god, Gavin." Austin held his head in his hands with a sigh. "I totally forgot about him. I feel even worse now, shit."

"You should." Nines muttered.

"Fuck, you're his partner." Austin said, turning to look at Nines. "I'm so sorry..."

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to the androids you traumatized." Nines shot back. "There were so many androids you had hurt, and most of them are still recovering."

"Oh my god..." Austin murmured, dragging his hands across his face.

"It's finally setting in now, huh?" Connor hummed.

"If you're talking about guilt? Yeah." Austin replied. "God, here." Austin yanked his SWAT badge off his belt at tossed it on the table. "Just arrest me."

"Woah, woah, slow down!" Tina exclaimed. "I still have some questions!"

"Shoot." Austin shrugged. "I have all day."

"Who was the person paying you?" Tina asked.

"Some dickwad who hated that androids gained rights." Austin replied.

"Name?" Connor added.

"Something like Robbie Keller." Austin guessed. "We didn't see him in person that much."

"Okay." Tina paused. "A repeat question, but why are you being so cooperative? No guilty person I've interrogated has ever been this cooperative."

"Neither have I." Connor commented.

"Like I said, there's not really a point in lying anymore." Austin sighed. "I've given up. Just take me away...." Tina glanced up at Nines who looked like he was fighting the urge to slam Austin's head into the table.

"Why did you harm androids when you knew your boyfriend was close to multiple?" Connor asked.

"I don't really know." Austin admitted. "Being completely honest? I was told to get a boyfriend as a cover up to make me look unsuspicious or whatever. John and Garret got girlfriends as cover ups. John and Garret don't really care for their girlfriends, but I actually really like Gavin... well I guess that's ruined now."

"I'm assuming that just like Gavin, they weren't aware of this?" Tina assumed.

"That'd be right. They have no idea as far as I know." Austin confirmed.

"How long have you been doing this?" Tina asked. "The oldest recording we have says two months ago."

"About four months. We had been doing good up until that bartender I think." Austin replied.

"DOING GOOD???" Nines snapped, Tina flinching at the sudden noise. "How Can You Be 'Doing Good' With ANDROID ABUSE??"

"Nines, step out of the room please." Connor ordered.

"BUT—"

"Out." Connor hissed. Nines made a grumbling noise before walking out of the Interrogation room to cool down.

"Finally putting those Older Brother privileges to work I see?" Tina scoffed.

"I don't like it." Connor admitted with a laugh. The room went quiet.

"Welp," Tina said, standing. "You've fucked yourself Austin. We'll be arranging a court hearing soon."

"Come on in." Connor motioned for the officers in the other room to enter. A few seconds later, Chris, Walt, and Selina entered, Nines trailing behind them. "You okay Nines?"

"I'll be okay." He replied. "Just upset."

"That's okay dude." Tina smiled. "You're still not used to a few emotions, and that's fine."

"I feel unprofessional though?" Nines countered.

"Believe me, it's normal." Connor assured.

"You wouldn't believe how many breakdowns I had on my first day!" Officer Selina added with a laugh. Chris and Officer Morris led Austin out of the room. "You're gonna be okay Nines." Selina patted Nines on the shoulder before following Chris and Morris.

"See? Officer Selina is just like you." Connor hummed. "You're going to be okay Nines. Got it?"

"Got it." Nines nodded. The RK brothers left the room, leaving Tina alone. She let out a sigh before turning to the now empty table. Tina picked up the case file, skimming through the screencaps of the recordings. How horrible was that? He was beating up androids for money. He was a fucking SWAT member. He didn't need it. Tina reached over and picked up the SWAT badge Austin left. He pretty much resigned without saying he was. She'd have to message Captain Allen about that.

"So," Tina spun around and saw Gavin standing at the door.

"Gav! I thought you were at a scene!" Tina exclaimed. The detective leaned against the doorway.

"Nothing was there." Gavin shrugged. The two of them went silent.

"Were you going to say something?" Tina asked. Gavin stayed quiet for a moment, staring at his shoes.

"You weren't lying." He stated. Tina frowned:

"I wouldn't lie to you for a bad reason, Gav." She said. "You're my best friend, and I wouldn't hurt you on purpose."

"Yeah, Yeah, I know." Gavin snickered. The two went quiet again. The only noise coming from the bullpen. Tina could hear Connor and Nines bickering about something in the distance.

"The RKs are loud." Tina commented.

"Yeah." Gavin said with a laugh. "Is... Is Nines okay? I've been meaning to talk to him more, but I just..."

"He's fine, Gav." Tina replied. "Nines is fine. He's been having trouble with emotions recently, but he's fine."

"Good, good." Gavin nodded. Silent once more. "I'm going by the way."

"What?"

"To the party thing. I'll come with you." Gavin explained. Tina smiled.

"Great. Bring Nines along, because I don't think Connor would have the time to force him to go himself." She added.

"What if he says no to me?" Gavin smirked.

"Believe me, he won't." Tina slipped past Gavin and out into the hallway.

They stared at each other in a weird silence for a minute before someone said something.

"If you need to talk, I'm always there for you dude." Tina smiled.

"I know." Gavin straightened up before wrapping his arms around Tina's neck in a hug. "You're the best, T."

"No you." Tina replied, giving a hug back.

"Bitch, accept my compliment or die."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next chapter is gonna be the revolution party and we'll finally get back to nines and gavin interaction haha :)


	38. The Anniversary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines, Gavin, Tina, and Valarie go to New Jericho to celebrate the Revolution's anniversary. Everything is going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dhbgwrdvje ok first of all, so sorry for this being late it was my sister's birthday today and i only just got around to posting this,,, and second i'm not very happy with the ending of this chapter, but it'll work :) enjoy i guess?

The Revolution had happened a year ago today.

Androids had been led through a peaceful march by Markus, who proved that Androids were deserving of any right a human would have. Rights for Androids had started working on being granted merely a few weeks later, but the actual "Battle" for Detroit was what Androids celebrated. It was like their own Fourth of July. Valarie was very invested in going to the Revolution's Anniversary Party, which Tina didn't really understand. Then again, Valarie had been there when Markus led the Peace March.

Either way, Valarie was intent on making Tina come to the party with her. In turn, Tina made Gavin go, which forced Nines to go as well. It's a whole train of "Oh they're going? Guess I'll go too!"

The Revolution's Anniversary Party was going to be held at New Jericho (not surprising) and was mainly arranged by Connor and Simon (also not surprising). Connor had luckily managed to finish the whole courtyard garden two days before the party, and Simon was already finished with most other preparations. Without going into too much detail, The Revolution's Party was going to be great. It was the first anniversary after all! Jericho's leaders want to make it an anniversary to remember.

————

The group had decided to take Tina's car, as hers was far nicer than Gavin's and had the option of an autopilot mode. The drive to New Jericho was mainly Valarie and Tina spewing random information back and forth while Gavin and Nines sat in the backseat listening. Neither of them were paying attention to what they were saying though. When Tina finally pulled into New Jericho's parking lot, the nervous air got thicker. Or at least around Gavin. Nines had noticed.

Tina and Valarie got out of the car, excitedly as soon as the engine stopped while Gavin and Nines stayed behind for a moment.

"Are you alright?" Nines asked, softly. Gavin glanced at his partner for a moment.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine." Gavin swiftly left the vehicle, Nines sighing doing the same.

Tina was practically vibrating in excitement as she held Valarie's hand. Apparently that was normal because Gavin was watching her like it was. Tina and Valarie quickly led the way to New Jericho's front doors when they realized everyone was here. Gavin and Nines fell behind a bit, but were close enough to hear Valarie's excited whispers to her girlfriend.

"You'll have to lead me around, I've never been here before." Gavin said with a laugh.

"You haven't?" Nines questioned.

"No, this place wasn't exactly designed with humans in mind." Gavin smirked.

"Ah." Nines hummed as Valarie opened the door and held it for the rest of them. The reception/waiting room wasn't that different other than a few chairs rearranged. Josh was stood at the reception desk, talking to another android and her human companion. As Nines, Valarie, Tina, and Gavin approached the desk, Josh pointed in the direction of the courtyard doors and the pair he was talking to thanked him before walking in said direction.

"Hello Josh." Valarie greeted.

"Hey! Glad you guys decided to come!" Josh grinned, typing a few things into the computer next to him. "We'll be closing the doors sometime around 1AM, but you're free to leave anytime before that."

"Thank you Josh!" Valarie waved, leading the group the same direction the other pair went.

"Have fun!" He called back before turning to help the next group. Valarie led Tina, Nines, and Gavin over to the courtyard doors, and held it open for them to walk through.

The courtyard was decorated with balloons and streamers, and it looked pretty similar to how Nines remembered Lieutenant Anderson's birthday. There was a stage against the east wall and the whole courtyard was filled with people. Nines saw a few familiar faces, like Ripple, Echo, and Ralph, but most of them were random androids and humans he didn't know. Valarie immediately pulled Tina away to the middle of the crowd. She probably saw someone she knew and wanted to introduce them to her girlfriend. Nines was about to walk over to his other friends who were talking to some random android with a bird on his shoulder, but he noticed how unsure Gavin looked. Nines took a glance between his two options before leaning against the wall, next to Gavin.

Tina had pretty much forced her best friend to come, so of course he was uncomfortable.

"What are you doing?" Gavin asked. "You have friends, go talk to them."

"You look nervous." Nines replied.

"Of course I'm nervous you dumbass. You realize I used to be a racist piece of shit towards androids right?" Gavin frowned. "I wouldn't be surprised if half the people here hate me."

"They don't hate you." Nines assured. "Androids were created with the ability to adapt and change. They know Humans can change too."

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure four months after the revolution I was known as the guy who got beat up by Connor in the evidence locker trying to stop him." Gavin growled, kicking at the ground.

"Maybe, but that was before. This is now." Nines pointed out. "Androids are very understanding, so if they recognize you, then it'll be fine. Besides... I'm here." Gavin glanced up at Nines but quickly turned his gaze away to the floor. The pair was quiet for a bit, listening to the chatter of the other androids. 

"I think Meeko misses you." Gavin said, out of the blue.

"What?" Nines laughed.

"My cat misses you." He repeated with a smile. "He's always staring at the door, like he's waiting for someone to come through it. Honestly think it's you."

"That's funny." Nines snickered. Gavin pulled out his phone and searched through his photos before clicking on one and showing Nines.

"Connor sent me this a few days ago." He said as Nines looked at the image. It was a screencap from Connor's memories, obviously, and it was Nines sitting on the floor holding Meeko in his hands while staring down at the tiny Maine Coon. "You, like, completely froze up when you held him. It was fucking hilarious."

"I am aware." Nines sighed as Gavin put his phone back in his pocket. The pair went quiet yet again. Nines saw Gavin's expression change in his peripheral vision.

"Hey...Um.." He started. "Sorry for like...not talking to you a lot."

"What do you mean?" Nines asked.

"We're partners, and...we haven't really been doing anything productive since my birthday." Gavin explained. "I've pretty much been ignoring you, and... I guess I feel bad or something." Nines placed a hand on Gavin's shoulder, making the shorter man look up at him.

"It's okay." He replied. "I understand that you were upset at Tina, and you weren't in a good mood. No need to apologize for anything." Gavin gave a nod and Nines took back his hand.

"Speaking of not being in a good mood, mind if I vent a little?" Gavin questioned.

"Go ahead." Nines answered. Gavin took a look out at the crowd of androids and humans before looking back at his shoes.

"It's just...I guess.." Gavin frowned when he couldn't find the right words to start with.

"Take your time." Nines assured.

"It's... It's about Austin." The detective started, arms crossed. "I... had no idea he was actually a shit person. He was being paid to hurt people, like, god! How heartless do you have to be to do that?? It...hurts? I think? I don't know, he was one of the first people who actually...I dunno, cared? Fuck, I'm just confused. His whole situation is a confusing fucking mess."

"I understand." Nines nodded. "If I wasn't good and holding back my actions, I would have slammed his head into the interrogation table."

"Good." Gavin scoffed. "That's good."

Nines watched as Gavin's stress levels slowly lowered, and he relaxed onto the wall. Seems like talking to someone helped stress levels? Nines saved that information for later, just in case.

"I've been meaning to ask," Nines began. "where did you get that scar?"

"Which one?" Gavin laughed. Nines gave an unimpressed stare.

"The only one that is noticeable." Nines elaborated.

"Right, right, the nose scar." Gavin brushed his hand across said scar, doing so looked like he was reliving a fond memory. "Y'know, I told everyone a different story. Connor thinks I got it from an alleyway brawl while Chris thinks it's from a broken bottle being smashed on my head."

"What? Why'd you do that? Does anyone know the truth?" Nines questioned

"It's fun to make up stories, plus the real reason is... I dunno, underwhelming compared to the other stories?" Gavin shrugged. "Nobody other than Eli and the Chloes know though."

"Not even Tina?"

"Not even Tina." Gavin confirmed.

"So then what's the real story?" Nines asked. "If it's not too personal that is."

"As long as you don't tell anybody, then I'll say it." Gavin hummed. "If you tell someone, it'll ruin the fun of making up bullshit stories."

"I promise." Nines agreed. Gavin wordlessly held up his right pinky finger. Nines sighed and locked it with his, giving a small shake before releasing.

"Eli did it." Gavin said in a more hushed tone.

"What??" Nines puzzled, somewhat shocked by the sudden answer. "How?"

"Okay, it's kind of a long story," Gavin explained. "but the gist of it is that it was an accident and he slashed my nose open with a pocket knife."

"That's not underwhelming??" Nines exclaimed. "Wh- How??"

"Look, it was kind of my fault but I got angry about it. He took all the blame though so I wouldn't get in trouble, I appreciated that." Gavin explained.

"That's nice, I think." Nines and Gavin shared a laugh. Just as their laughing died down, Markus' voice boomed over a microphone.

"Hello everybody!" He greeted. "I'm so glad to have everyone here, thank you so much for coming. My fellow leaders and I have a few things to say." On the stage, Simon, Josh, North, and Connor also stood. Markus stepped to the side and Simon stepped up to the microphone.

"The Revolution happened a year ago today. Androids fought for our freedom, fought to live peacefully among humans." Simon said. "Thanks to Markus, the revolution was peaceful and a success." Josh stepped forward and Simon side stepped.

"After the revolution's clean up, we immediately went to work to create a safe space for androids. We knew humans weren't going to be kind at first, but we were determined to create a new version of Jericho that would be bigger and better." Josh smiled. "Thus, New Jericho was created." North stepped up and Josh moved.

"New Jericho was a safe space for androids while Markus worked hard on passing laws for androids. A few months go by, and we get rights to property, education, adoption, and soon we were all citizens!" North exclaimed. "It's amazing how far we've come, and it's only been one year." Connor stepped up and North moved aside.

"The Revolution was a beacon of hope for all androids, and thanks to the support of our Human allies, we were able to start living among everyone like normal people." Connor said. "We appreciate all the support New Jericho and androids in general have received. We know that in the future, things will only get better." Markus returned to the microphone, Connor stepping back a little.

"What we're trying to say is that we have been free for a year so far. We're very excited to continue working as hard as we can to spread our positivity across the world." Markus explained. "To my fellow androids, you're determination to bring free is what got us here today. To our human allies, thank you for your support. As long as we continue our determination, we'll make Detroit the star for human-android equality."

Claps and cheers filled the courtyard, androids and humans excited for the future of New Jericho and androids. Nines glanced down at Gavin. He wasn't clapping or cheering, but had a soft smile on his face. He must have noticed Nines staring because he looked up at his android companion with the same expression.

"Thanks for coming." Nines said as the commotion died down and the Jericho Leaders stepped off the stage.

"Why wouldn't I?" Gavin smirked.

That moment, Nines realized that he'd be okay. Gavin would be okay. Everything would work out as well as it could. Nines accepted that. So, he grabbed Gavin's arm and pulled him towards the crowd. It was about time Echo, Ripple, and Ralph met his partner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: this chapter was originally supposed to be the finale haha obviously not anymore though, because im planning to have a little over 50 chapters :^)
> 
> also i am aware that the speeches the leaders made were kinda cliché that was the point


	39. Good Old Fashioned Bonding Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Nines have left the party and arrived at Riverside Park. They just have some alone time together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the boys are back in town B)
> 
> egbsjev this is a bit late bc i accidentally deleted half of this chapter and i had to rewrite it

"So what'd you think of them?" Nines and Gavin had since left the party, not notifying Tina and Valarie to Nines' discomfort. Still, they abandoned the excitement to instead walk and get coffee (or in Nines' case Thirium-based) before arriving at Riverside Park.

"Who?" Gavin joked, sipping at his beverage.

"My friends." Nines scoffed, leaning against the cold metal railing, the Detroit River flowing beneath.

"I know, I know." Gavin hummed. "They seem cool. Echo talks a lot and Ripple's quiet. Ralph's kinda weird but he's chill." The trio was very excited to meet Gavin, and had immediately bombarded him with questions (Gavin answered as much as he could before Nines had to intervene).

"I'm glad you approve." Nines smirked. Gavin rolled his eyes as Nines laughed. 

"But seriously, it's pretty epic you got some new friends. Hanging out with me, Chris, and Tina must get pretty repetitive and annoying."

"What? No!" Nines exclaimed. "I could never think such a thing."

"Really?" Gavin asked, skeptical.

"Other than Connor, North, and Lieutenant Anderson, you three are the first friends I had." Nines admitted. "I wasn't very talkative back at Jericho."

"Not surprising." Gavin muttered.

"Even though half of your jokes are very confusing, along with most of your generation's humor, I still enjoy being in your company." Nines fiddled with the three-fourths filled coffee cup he had. "I don't think I'll get tired of you anytime soon."

"That's good." Gavin hummed. "I...don't think I'll get tired of you either, tin-can."

The sky was and inky black, the stars peaking out behind thick clouds. The moon was barley visible, but it's glow still illuminated the area, along with the street lamps stationed around the park and its parking lot. Nines stared up through the tree branches, leaning against the metal railing. Gavin stood next to him, instead staring off at the bridge hovering above the river.

"So, are you gonna do anything for the godforsaken holiday that's coming up, aka Thanksgiving?" Gavin asked.

"What a title!" Nines mused. "Possibly. I think I heard Connor talking about having me over. I don't really care though."

"Yeah, that whole holiday thing is super dumb, but we're not gonna get into that." Gavin brushed off. "Elijah's forcing me to come over, so that's nice."

"I can't tell if you like your half-brother or not." Nines hummed.

"Depends on the timeframe I guess." Gavin shrugged. "If you asked six-year-old me? He'd rave about how cool he is. Asked thirteen-year-old me? Screaming about how annoying he is. Asked twenty-year-old me? All you'd get is a 'I dunno'."

"What about current you?" Nines asked.

"He's okay." Gavin replied. "What about you? Do you like Connor?"

"He talks too much sometimes." Nines said. "I know he has a lot to say, and I'm surprised that his part in the anniversary speech wasn't fifteen minutes long."

"God, that wouldn't be surprising!" Gavin laughed.

"He does have his own problems though." Nines shrugged. "He used to boot himself out of stasis a lot. In fact, he might still do that but I'm not sure."

"Why?"

"Not sure about that either. I've overheard him ranting to Hank about it a few times. Mostly memories from before he deviated." Nines readjusted his stance, turning to stare off into the Detroit River.

"Hm. Like nightmares or something?" Gavin assumed.

"Something like that." Nines agreed. A moment of silence went by. "Can I ask you a genuine question?"

"Shoot." Gavin responded.

"How are you doing?" Nines asked. He turned to Gavin to see a confused expression staring back. "We haven't had an actual talk in a while, so I was wondering how you've been."

"I've been..." Gavin paused, searching for the right words. "I mean, I was fine before Austin...y'know..."

"Right." Nines sighed. He should have known that's how Gavin would respond. "How about now?"

"I think...I'm okay." The pair locked eyes. "I'll be okay." As the November air decided to blow a chill air past, the hustle and noise from the cars above was the only noticeable sound. 

...

"Have I ever told you that you have nice eyes?" Nines asked. Gavin was clearly caught off guard by the surprise compliment, and quickly averted his gaze as his cheeks flushed pink.

"I.. uh... no you have never said anything, uh, remotely similar.." Gavin stammered.

"Well, I think so." Nines said. "They're a nice grayish-hazel. Plus, paired with your nose scar, you look rather charming." Gavin let out a laugh.

"You're gonna play it like that huh?"

"Play like what?" Nines questioned innocently.

"God, Fine!" Gavin huffed. "Then have I ever told you that _your_ eyes look nice?" Nines shook his head. "Well they _do_! Icy Blue matches your dumb face well." Gavin looked off to the bridge, a smug smile on his face, since it was now Nines' turn to get caught off guard.

"Wait, were you serious?" He asked.

"Were you serious?" Gavin asked back.

"Of course!"

"Then I guess I was too..." The pair stood in silence, Gavin staring off at the bridge and Nines staring at Gavin's side profile.

"Now what?" Nines questioned after a few seconds of silence, following Gavin's gaze to the bridge.

"Hm?" Gavin hummed, fiddling with his coffee cup that had since gone cold.

"What do we do now?" Nines repeated. "The party is over in a few minutes, so we can't go back. And I know you're not going to finish that cold cup of coffee.."

"I mean, we can go to my place?" Gavin suggested. "Like I said, my cats have been missing you for some fuckin' reason."

"That'd be nice." Nines smiled. 

"Cool. C'mon." Gavin walked off and threw his coffee cup onto the nearest trash can. Nines followed, throwing his away too. Gavin led Nines down the sidewalk, not bother to call a cab to get to his apartment faster. Nines would have offered, but this was...nice. Walking along side his partner in comfortable silence.

He could do this forever....

\------------

Thirty minutes of walking until the pair arrived at Gavin's apartment, #208. When Nines first came to the apartment, he had no idea he'd ever come back. He's glad he was able too. Gavin led Nines up the steps, the human skipping every other stair to get to his home faster. By the time Nines made it up to Gavin's floor, the human was already half way to his door. When Nines entered and shut the door behind him, he felt small claws pinching at his ankles.

"Dammit Meeko!" Gavin snickered, picking up the feline. Meeko had barley grown since the last Nines saw him, but he was slightly bigger. The kitten squirmed a little in his owner's hand so Gavin held out the cat at Nines. "Hold the little fucker, I gotta fill up the food bowl." So Nines took the maine coon kitten. Meeko quickly snuggled up to Nines' chest as he held the cat like a human baby. Nines walked over into the living room, gently petting Meeko on the way.

By the time Nines sat down on the couch, Gavin finished filling the cat bowl, Bobo and Turnip immediately going to eat. Gavin flopped down on the couch next to Nines, his leather jacket abandoned on a barstool. Nines felt a weird sense of deja vu. 

"This is sort of like when I first came here." Nines commented.

"Yeah, back when I hated your robo guts." Gavin added. "But this time, there's a tiny kitten instead of an old bitch who sat by the window all day." Gavin leaned against Nines' arm as he scratched Meeko's head, making Nines' thirium pump accelerate slightly. This reminded him of something else that day though.

"Gavin, can I ask you another question?" Nines hummed.

"Yeah sure." Gavin said, still leaning against Nines as he pet the soft kitten in the android's arms.

"Why were you awake in the middle of the night the first night I was here?" Nines asked. He felt Gavin stiffen at the question, taking back the hand that had been petting the kitten. Meeko mewed, annoyed, at his owner. Nines placed the kitten down on the floor and moved to look Gavin in the eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's just..." Gavin ran a hand down his face. "That night, I totally forgot you were there... Normally when I wake up at night, I go and sleep on the couch but by the time I remembered you were there you had already seen me."

"Okay, but why had you woken up? You said something about a nightmare?" Nines urged. 

"It...It was nothing."

"If it woke you up, it was probably something." Nines said, eyebrow raised. "I remember your stress levels being in the 80s."

"It was just a dumb nightmare... Nothing you should worry about." Gavin huffed. Nines frowned but left it alone, shifting away to sit properly. Gavin leaned away from Nines this time, deep in thought. 

A few minutes passed. The pair was silent. Bobo and Turnip have since returned to the living room, sitting on the cat tree near the couch. Nines wanted to say something, but he couldn't think of anything meaningful. 

"If you want to know you have to promise not to tell anyone." Gavin said out of the blue. Nines said nothing, but held out his pinky finger. Gavin smirked before locking his and giving it a shake. "It was a nightmare. They've been happening for a while, and they won't fucking stop."

"I'm sorry." Nines apologized for no reason.

"No, no it's fine." Gavin mumbled. "They're just dumb nightmares that I keep having."

"And they wake you up?" 

"Yeah but I fall asleep after. I'm fine, really." Gavin assured. "Let's just, do something else."

"Okay." Nines nodded. And that's what they did. Gavin turned on the TV and the pair watched some random movie. Nines hadn't paid attention to what Gavin had chosen, as he was distracted by how the human leaned back onto the android's side, his thirium pump accelerating once more. 

By the time the movie was over, it was about 2am. Another movie was queued up by default, but neither detective would pay attention to it. Gavin fell asleep, leaning on Nines' shoulder. The android had slipped into stasis a few minutes after his partner fell asleep. Inside his minipalace, Nines was upset that he was wasting Gavin's electricity by keeping the lights on, but Nines refused to exit stasis and move to prevent waking Gavin up. 

Tina had spammed Gavin's phone that had been abandoned in the kitchen, set on silent. Connor and Valarie messaged Nines multiple times, but he ignored each of them. The pair was unbothered and asleep. And that night, Gavin didn't wake up once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i do not like the ending of this, but it'll work haha  
> also, thank you guys so much for actually liking this lmao, like the comments y'all leave make me so happy haha :)


	40. Detective Reflexes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin wakes up and takes a shower before Nines leaves the apartment. Afterwards, Gavin starts thinking about Nines and calls someone for advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YO WE MADE IT TO CHAPTER 40???? i thought i would have given up by now lmao
> 
> ALSO I AM SO SORRY FOR THIS BEING LATE HAHA i was distracted by homework and then i got more distracted by a twitch stream anyway i'm here now so hehehe

Gavin thoroughly enjoyed the time he had with Nines during and after the party . That was a definite fact. Falling asleep on Nines was not apart of the plan though. Then again, there wasn't really a solid plan to begin with. He just invited Nines over because why the hell not? They hadn't had some good time together outside of work in forever! Meeko, Turnip, and Bobo all were very happy to see the android again, so that was a plus. The whole falling asleep thing though? Gavin didn't realize he _had_ fallen asleep until he woke up at 8:30am without an alarm blaring in his face. Well, there was Bobo meowing his head off after he realized his owner was awake.

"Shhh....Shut up Bo." Gavin hushed the cat. He swore he saw Bobo frown before jumping up onto the couch. That was when Gavin realize he was still with Nines. The android was still in stasis (that's what it was called right?), sitting up right with his LED spinning blue. It was a little creepy, but thank god his eyes were closed. Gavin leaned away for a second as Bobo made his own spot on Nines' lap like the attention whore he was. He rolled his eyes and carefully got up, careful to not knock his partner out of stasis.

He was aware Nines could detect people in his sleep or whatever, but Gavin still walked to the kitchen as quietly as he could. Maybe he wouldn't see him? It seemed to have worked because Nines didn't move a muscle. Gavin quietly refilled the cat's water bowl before digging into his pantry for something specific. The RK brothers had been coming to his house a lot more often than Gavin had originally thought when he first met them, so of course he'd eventually have a storage of thirium built up.

He pulled out a pouch and examined the packaging for any rips or tears. When he found none, Gavin place the packet on the counter before silently dashing off to his room to get a pen and a sticky note. He returned to the kitchen with both items, his steps still perfectly silent. Those stealth missions really paid off. Gavin scribbled out a few words on the sticky note before slapping it onto the pouch of blue liquid.

Gavin then returned to his bedroom, grabbed a change of clothes, and went to the bathroom to take a shower. He had a lot to think about, so why not get clean while having a crisis?

————

"C'mon he's waking up! I gotta get up too!" Nines protested.

"No!" His handler argued back. "If you wake up now, then he'll feel dumb about sneaking around his house silently for no reason! He's being quiet so he won't wake you, just let him have this victory!"

"But—!" Nines was immediately cut off by Handler Gavin's hand being shoved in his face.

"Shut up. I'm your handler and I can do whatever the fuck I want." He smirked.

"Sometimes I wish I chose a simulation of Connor to be my handler." Nines muttered, pushing the hand away.

"You love me!" Gavin cooed strolling away. Nines rolled his eyes and turned back to the screen he was looking at before. He could read heat sensors inside his head, so he knew where Gavin was while he was still "asleep".

He seemed to have written a note before walking to his bedroom to change. Then Nines realized he was going to shower and that made him look away. Sure, he was just looking at the heat sensor and he couldn't actually see Gavin, but it still felt a little weird.

————

Nines' eyes fluttered open as he heard a muffled shower turn on. He gave a scan of the living room before looking down at the slight weight that was positioned on his lap. Nines stroked Bobo's fur, the feline purring happily. After a moment or two of petting the silver cat, Nines picked him up and placed him to the side to stand. Nines remembered detecting Gavin near the kitchen, so Nines went there to see if he had done anything. 

As he entered the small kitchen area, he immediately saw the pouch of Thirium with a bright pink sticky note on it. Nines picked up the Thirium and read the note. It was in Gavin's horrible lowercase handwriting, but Nines could read it.

_"hey if you're reading this rn i'm in the shower. feel free to leave but i have this blue blood shit and i figured you wanted one before you left haha."_

Nines smiled at the consideration, and took the sticky note off the pouch. His thirium levels were fine at the moment, but it was a sweet gesture. Nines picked up the pen that Gavin discarded on the counter and wrote his own note on the back of Gavin's. Though he didn't want to, he should probably leave. Connor probably wanted an explanation and he wasn't going to get one from Gavin. Nines gave quick head scratches to all three cats before leaving Gavin's apartment, carrying the gifted thirium pouch.

————————————————

Gavin had spent, like, a whole hour in the shower. Most of that time was just him spacing out while staring at the wall and scrubbing the same spot on his arm though. When the water had gone cold and wouldn't get any hotter, he stepped out scrubbing himself with a towel. Once he was sufficiently dried, he put on the clothes he had brought in. They were much more comfortable than the jeans he had slept in.

When Gavin left his bathroom the first thing he looked for was if Nines was still there. The note he left had said it was fine for his partner to leave, so he wasn't surprised to see Nines gone and said note was upside down. Gavin entered the kitchen to get food, but realized Nines had written something on the back of the sticky note. It was in his perfect grammatically correct handwriting (gross).

_"I left but I had a great time with you last night. Thank you for the Thirium, by the way :)"_

Gavin smiled. The smiley face was something Nines had never done, but it was probably Connor's smiley face habit rubbing off on him. Gavin moved the sticky note aside and began making a bowl of cereal. Gavin so was glad for his day off. He could just fuck around at home, not doing shit but lay on the couch and do nothing. Then again, he had to go grocery shopping soon, so maybe not? Whatever. That was a problem for future Gavin to deal with. Present Gavin though, plopped down on the couch, bowl of cereal in hand. Turnip did appear and attempt to sneakily drink the milk while Gavin was looking for the remote, but Detective Reflexes gently pushed the cat away. 

"Little shit." Gavin murmured, affectionately, flipping the TV back on. He had no idea when the TV was turned off, but it was left on some bullshit movie so Gavin just let that play. As the detective ate his breakfast, Turnip sitting patiently next to him, his mind began to wonder. In the shower, he was thinking about a bunch of bullshit things like... them... but his mind had also moved to Nines.

Specifically the compliment the android had made the previous night. Does he really have nice grayish-hazel eyes? Does his nose scar really make him look charming? Gavin didn't see it, but apparently Nines was being genuine. That did make him feel better about himself, to think Nines liked how he looked. But why did he care about Nines' opinion? He was just his work partner and friend. It's not like it mattered that much! Then again, that compliment about his eyes and nose scar really stuck out. 

As Gavin contemplated, Turnip leaned over and started drinking the now milk-filled bowl. Gavin pushed her away once he realized what she was doing.

"Stop, you're lactose intolerant dumbass." Gavin laughed. He walked away and put the bowl in the kitchen sink before realizing his phone was still in said kitchen. He picked the device up and saw multiple messages from Tina last night, and one message from Nines.

**Tina** : " _hey where r u? me and val are waiting"_

**Tina** : " _bitch u better pick up bc 9s isn't answering"_

**Tina** : " _helloooooo asshoeeeee?"_

**Tina** : " _you're not listening to me, nines isn't listening to val or connor"_

**Tina** : " _can't have shit in detroit"_

**Tina** : _"it's fuckin cold so me and val are leaving bye bitch"  
_

  
Gavin quickly messaged Tina back.

  
**Me** : " _lmfao i walked home w/ nines"_

**Me** : " _we didn't tell u losers"_

  
Tina responded almost immediately to Gavin's surprise.

  
**Tina** : " _ok good bc connor thought nines was fucking dead"_

**Tina** : " _it was so funny he was panicking and shit"_

**Tina** : " _thought you two got kidnapped"_

**Me** : " _funniest thing i've seen all morning and i looked in the mirror already"_

  
Gavin left Tina's contact and moved to Nines'.

  
**Nines** : " _I informed Connor and Valarie about what happened. Apparently Connor was very worried, so next time we do something like that I will tell him."_

**Me** : _"booo"_

**Me** : _"but seriously con's got like,,,, empty nest syndrome or smth"_

**Nines** : _"That is when a parent's child leaves the house."_

**Me** : _"idk man it was the first thing that came to mind lmao"_

**Nines** : _"I can see how it's similar though :)"_

**Me** _: "what's with the smiley faces? you left one on the sticky note too"_

**Nines** _: "Would you like me to stop?"_

**Me** _: "nonono it's just i've never seen you use them and i was a bit confused,, haha please keep doing it"_

**Nines** : _"okay :)"_

Gavin took his phone with him as he walked back into the living room at sat on the couch. Gavin's thoughts went back to what he was thinking about before Turnip rudely interrupted. The compliments, right. Nines was apparently being genuine, and it didn't feel like a passing compliment from a work partner. Then again, he could be overly hopeful and overthink these things. Gavin rubbed at his wrist only to realize the bracelet he had been wearing was abandoned in the bathroom. With a sigh, Gavin left the living room once more and entered the bathroom to retrieve the jewelry. 

Honestly, Gavin had stopped wearing bracelets because it wasn't apart of the police uniform and he didn't want to risk breaking dress code back then. So he just stopped. He had tried wearing jewelry again once he was promoted to Detective, but it just didn't _feel_ right. This tourmaline bracelet that Nines gave him though, it was different. He knew it wasn't _that_ expensive, since it was enough for a police detective to afford, but it just felt different than any other jewelry he'd worn.

He noticed whenever he wore it to work (which was everyday by the way), he'd catch Nines sneaking glimpses at his wrist with a smile. Seems the android didn't expect him to actually wear the gift. Nevertheless, Gavin treasured the bracelet _like it was fucking gold_. He wasn't exactly sure why, since it was just a bracelet, but it was special.

Gavin returned to the living room couch, the black bracelet around his right wrist. Now he began really spacing off. There was a lot going through his mind, from Austin's case to how Tina had acquired that security footage in the first place. However, for some reason his mind always travelled back to Nines. 

Was there something happening there, or was he just imagining it? Gavin let out an annoyed groan, spooking Meeko a little at the sudden noise. The detective grabbed his phone and called someone. He needed advice, and even though this is the last person he'd call, all of his other options were either out of commission or were way too close to what he needed advice on.

_"Hello Gavin!"_ Elijah's voice was weirdly happy.

"Hey Eli, I have a question."

_"Okay, where's the body?"_

"Eli, I'm a fucking detective," Gavin shot. "I would know how to hide a body."

_"You're right."_ Elijah laughed. _"What did you need help with?"_

"If you broke up with two other guys that ended up being douchebags and you start falling for your friend and work partner, what would you do?" Gavin asked.

_"Depends."_ Eli replied. _"Are the friend and work partner different people?"_

"No."

_"What happened to the other two guys?"_

"One was arrested."

_"How douchebag-gy are we talking about here? Like 'Hi my name is Chad and I like football and sex' or like 'Hey my name is Brad and I like skinny white women only'?"_

"More like, 'hey i abuse people for emotional benefit and/or money'."

_"How long has the 'falling for the work partner-friend' been happening?"_

"Didn't realize until this morning but probably longer."

_"Okay, well if the partner-friend is better than the other two guys I'd give it a shot."_ Eli concluded.

"Really?" Gavin asked.

_"Yeah, based on all the info given."_ He confirmed. _"I have a feeling this is happening to you based on all the specificness, but I won't comment."_

"No shit Sherlock." Gavin said, rolling his eyes.

_"So you're catching feelings for Nines then?"_ Gavin could hear the smug smirk through the phone.

"I guess." Gavin mumbled. "I don't know it's fuckin' confusing."

_"Yeah, romance with trust issues sprinkled in will do that to you."_

"Wow, okay, don't call me out like that, bitch." Gavin laughed. Elijah laughed along.

_"Anyway, I think you should go for it. Maybe after Thanksgiving?"_

"I'll think about it." The brothers said their goodbyes and Gavin hung up.

Could Nines actually have some kind of weird feelings for Gavin? Possibly, but Gavin didn't want to push it. If he was wrong, he'd just be super embarrassed and that'd be very awkward. Gavin laid on the couch, the nonsense movie still playing in the background. The detective stared at the ceiling. If Nines did like him the way Gavin was thinking, then he was doing a great job at hiding it. Either that or Gavin was being super fucking oblivious. He wouldn't be surprised if it was the second option.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've been listening to the undertale soundtrack a lot and god why is the CORE music a bop


	41. Domesticality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Nines interrogate someone for one of their cases.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ehbghveog oops this was late im sorry ahha  
> anyway this is mainly just filler :0

Gavin and Nines had immediately gone back to their daily grind once they got back to work. During the few months they had been partners, they had solved multiple cases that Gavin hadn't been able to do before, and that's exactly what they were going to continue to do. It was honestly a miracle that Reed had easily been forced to do cases while not whining like a bitch about it. What everyone at the precinct could agree on, was that Nines had saved them from endless Gavin Reed annoyance. And for that they were thankful.

A few days after the revolution's anniversary, Gavin and Nines were already preparing to interrogate a suspect for one of their cases. An android had been murdered in a supermarket while the store clerk was in the back room, and there was only a few other suspects. The evidence they currently had led them to heavily suspect a 23-year-old human named Ryan Brooks. He was a college student, and had a history of hating androids. Most of the evidence lined to him, so Nines called him to the precinct for questioning.

Chris and Officer Morris brought Brooks into the interrogation room, and them along with Tina stayed in the observation room to watch. Gavin and Nines had done their fair share of interrogations together, and it seems their strategy always worked in one way or another. Gavin would start out asking questions, getting Nines to confirm them with his lie detector. Eventually they'd switch off, Nines asking questions and Gavin watching. Soon enough, Gavin would pull out the intimidation card and get something good out of the subject. According to Nines, there was a 79.6% chance that it would work every time.

When Chris appeared to tell Nines and Gavin that Ryan Brooks was ready, Gavin was excited to finally get back to his daily grind while Nines was excited to be working normally again. Chris gave Brooks a debrief, the standard 'you have the right to a lawyer' thing that he told every subject being interrogated. Gavin and Nines entered the Interrogation room as Chris switched to the observation room. It felt like just yesterday, Gavin and Nines had interrogated a murderer in here and gotten a swift answer.

Brooks looked very bored, sitting at the table, right hand latched to the table just in case.

"Hello, Mr. Brooks." Gavin greeted. "I'm Detective Reed, and this is my partner Detective Nines. We're here to ask you a few questions."

"Whatever..." The college student mumbled. "You're not gonna find anything. I already told your buddy."

"We still need to ask a few questions." Nines politely smiled as Gavin sat in the chair across from their suspect.

"What was your relationship with this recently deceased WR400, Raychel?" Gavin slid a photograph of the android in front of Brooks.

"I've never seen that 'droid in my life." He grumbled.

"Alright..." Gavin said taking back the photo. "What about these individuals?" Gavin slid out two other photos. Both of them were college students, and were two other attackers of the WR400 who have already been arrested.

"I don't know either of them." Brooks claimed.

"Really? They go to same college as you." Gavin hummed. "In fact, from our research they're on the same floor and one of them is your roommate."

"Neither of those people are my roommate. I don't know what you're talking about." Brooks huffed. Gavin glanced to Nines who looked like he was fighting back a smug smile.

"Well alright then." Gavin said, taking back the pictures once again. "Do you recognize this man?" The detective pushed forward a photo of the store clerk, a man in his 50s.

"Yeah. That's Mr. Iverson. He works that one store on Grand Street." Brooks replied. "I can't remember the store name."

"Good to know." Gavin pulled the photo back into the file and stood from his seat. Nines took his spot and gave a smile to Ryan before pushing out the first photo again.

"Now tell _me_ , do you recognize her?" Nines asked.

"I already told you, I don't." Brooks frowned looking the detective in front of him straight in the eyes.

"Off topic, but do you know anything about the RK line of androids?" Nines asked.

"A little bit."

"Could you tell me?" Brooks looked skeptical, but nodded.

"Didn't an RK800 help the revolution or some shit?" Brooks shrugged. "They're like, detectives or something? I don't know, I'm a business major not an android history major."

"Mhm, you'd be correct." Nines hummed. "You wouldn't happen to know about the inner workings of an RK's artificial brain would you?"

"No." The student shook his head.

"Well, I'm an RK900 if you couldn't tell. I was built similar to my predecessor, the RK800." Nines explained. "We were both built for Detective work."

"Why are you telling me this?" Ryan sighed.

"I'm waiting for you to understand yourself." Nines replied. "I was built for Detective Work. What would be the most helpful thing for a human detective to have during an interrogation?"

"I dunno, a lie detector?" Nines stared at Ryan with a smug smile as the human's face paled, realizing his mistake.

"I'll ask you again." Nines said with a smile. "Do you know who this woman is?"

"I...I.." Brooks let out a hesitant breath. "Y-Yes. I do...."

"Good." Nines took out the photos of the college students. "I'm assuming you know who these are too?" Brooks nodded, staring down at the table, both his fists clenched.

"We need you to tell us everything you know." Gavin announced, slamming his hand on the table. Brooks flinched at the bang. "Raychel deserves justice just like anyone else."

Ryan was shaking, and according to Nines' scanners his stress levels rocketed up. The suspect stayed silent however, not bothering to say something.

"Hey!" Gavin yelped, walking around to be in Ryan's range. "Answer me!" The student was quiet. 

Until...

**_CRUNCH_ **

\------------

"Maybe you shouldn't have gone on the side that wasn't cuffed to the table?" Tina laughed.

Gavin gave a meaningless glare at his friend. The suspect had punched the detective, breaking his nose, causing blood to spew everywhere. Of course, Nines immediately started freaking out and rushed to help his partner while Tina and Chris forced the Brooks out of the room. Now, Gavin was sitting on a bathroom sink, Nines helping to clean up the blood still coming from his nose. Chris and Tina stood near the door, their stress levels still rather high from the surprise attack.

"Though I wish I didn't, I'd have to agree with Detective Chen. You probably shouldn't have gone to the side where his hand was free." Nines hummed, holding a towel to his partner's face.

"I get it, that was stupid of me, but I've had worse." Gavin shrugged. "Do you think being shot is worse than getting a broken nose? Probably not."

"Ha, this is kinda like when me and Nines brought you to the break room when you got a sprained wrist for some reason." Tina recalled. 

"Oh yeah." Gavin hummed. He wasn't fond of that memory. "Hey, tin-can, you got my blood on your jacket." The detective pointed out the red substance on the white half of Nines' clothing.

"I suppose I did. I'll clean it later." Nines replied.

"You care more about me than your clothes, that's great." Gavin smirked.

"Of course I care about you more than my clothing!" Nines exclaimed. "You're a living human being that I actively care about while clothing can be bought and replaced." Gavin rolled his eyes.

"You're dumb." He snickered.

"Says the person who got punched by the human he was interrogating." Nines replied, making Chris and Tina laugh. Gavin pouted while his friends laughed, Nines silently laughing, still holding a towel to his partners nose.

Gavin could get used to this kind of domesticality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> totally unrelated to the chapter but :
> 
> gavin, holding up bobo: stinky
> 
> tina: no don't be mean!
> 
> gavin, swaying bobo back and forth in the air: stinky bastard man
> 
> tina: no !!
> 
> nines, not looking up from his tablet: naughty foul smelling child
> 
> tina, distraught: NO !! STOP !!!


	42. gavin sprains something again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin heads to a bar to think about things, but ends up getting into a fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is bad and rushed sorry,, might rewrite this later lmao

Gavin wasn't the type to drown his sorrows in alcohol, because that was Hank's bit. He wasn't really the type to get high and forget everything for a few hours either. Gavin's way of coping was to go somewhere, pick a fight, and see who comes out without a broken bone. Well, that wasn't actually how he handled his problems, it was usually just smoking a whole pack of cigarettes while hoping his lungs would give out sooner. But, getting beat up is viable too.

Gavin was at a bar that he hadn't been to in years. There was a reason for that, but he didn't really care at this point. He just needed to get his partner's stupid smile out of his head. Gavin entered the small building to find, mostly drunk people. Some couples were sloppily making out in corners, which make Gavin want to gag, while others were drunkly mumbling to themselves. As the detective sat down on a bar stool, the bartender shifted over to him.

"Haven't seen you in awhile Reed." She remarked.

"Right back at you, Lisa. I can't believe you still work here." Gavin hummed. Lisa was probably one of the first people Gavin met when he and Tina moved to Detroit. She'd been working here for forever.

"Well, it's not like I have anywhere else to go. Androids have been getting all the good jobs." Lisa shrugged. "Good for them though." Gavin knew the bartender was happy for the happiness of androids, but she had always said she'd hold a grudge if they stole her job. 'Getting all the good ones' seemed close enough. "Anyway, you stopped coming here. I don't know what you like anymore." Lisa laughed.

"Just a beer is fine. Not planning to get shitfaced." Gavin smirked. Lisa nodded and grabbed the drink from the shelf, opening the bottle before sliding it to the detective.

——————

Gavin stuck to his personal promise to not get drunk. He did, however, completely space out. Not paying attention to anything around him. He was thinking about Nines.

Fiddling with the bracelet on his wrist, Nines had practically consumed Gavin’s thought process. The android was sarcastic, serious, and actually cares about others. He may have not known Nines for as long as he’d like, but the time he’s spent with his partner has really been something.

The only problem with Nines consuming most of this thoughts, is that Gavin didn’t realize a burly man walk into the bar and start picking a fight with some guy in the corner. He only realized it was happening because Lisa tapped Gavin on the arm.

“Hey, Gavin?” She hissed, slight panic lacing her voice.

“Hm?” He hummed, snapping out of his dazed state.

“Can you take care of that?” Lisa said, pointing to the oncoming bar brawl in the corner. Gavin turned and saw the new guy. He was about 5’10 and was pretty much what every mafia villain would looked like. The man was yelling about something involving money to another bar patron, who was much skinnier. Gavin sighed before slipping out of his chair. He cleared his throat, snapping the attention of both the burly man and the skinny man.

“Sorry to interrupt sir, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Gavin said.

“Oh yeah?” The man growled, his voice low and gravelly. “What are you gonna do about it?” Gavin reached down to his belt and unclipped his badge.

“Detroit Police Department.” He said, holding his badge to the man’s eye level. Whatever happened next happened so fast, Gavin didn’t realize he had blacked out on the floor with a piercing pain in his leg.

——————

“Detective?” Gavin groaned in annoyance when the first voice he heard was Connor’s. “Ah, you’re awake.” Gavin slowly opened his eyes, expecting the dim lighting of the bar or the bright lights of a hospital. Instead, he was greeted with the soft light of his apartment.

“What... happened?” Gavin mumbled, pushing himself up. He was laying on the couch, the TV off. Just as he sat up fully, the microwave started beeping. That didn’t help the pounding headache he had for some reason.

“You apparently were involved in some sort of drunken brawl? We’re not sure, but the guy who injured you leg is being charged with assault of officer after we get your statement.” Connor explained. The microwave beeping stopped.

“Ah.” Gavin hummed, looking down at his leg. There was a brace on his knee. This was familiar, wasn’t it?

“Gavin!” Tina’s voice appeared this time. Gavin looked up to see his best friend in the door way to the living room, Turnip in her arms. “Thank god you’re okay, Nines was about to have a panic attack or something!” Tina walked over and deposited Turnip onto Gavin’s lap, to which the cat immediately curled up and began purring.

“Yeah, well i’m alive. From what I can tell, it’s not that bad.” Gavin shrugged, petting Turnip’s tan fur.

“Thats great news.” A third person entered the living room. Nines. The android had a cup of instant ramen noodles in his hand. That must have been where the beeping came from.

“Thanks.” Gavin smiled, taking the cup when Nines offered them.

“Lisa called us, telling us you tried to stop someone from getting beat up but you got beat up yourself.” Tina remarked, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

“Yeah,” Gavin smirked. “Definitely didn’t work.”

“You seem to attract injury, Gavin.” Nines added, leaning on the couch’s arm rest. “Just yesterday you had a bleeding nose, now a sprained knee.”

“It’s my thing!” Gavin laughed. The other three gave laughs as well. Once it died down though, a blanket of worry seemed to place itself on the room. It was like Gavin could feel anxiety radiating from all three people, but mainly the tall android next to him.

“Are you okay, Gavin?” Tina asked.

“Other than the knee, I’m fine.” Gavin said. “Why?”

“It’s just... it feels like every year you’re getting more and more accident prone.” Tina admitted. “If you die sooner than you’re suppose to, I’ll bring you back to life to kill you again myself.”

Gavin laughed. “T, I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me, really.” Tina nodded but the blanket of worry didn’t leave. In fact, Gavin swore he could feel Nines get more anxious.

“We already contacted Captain Fowler and told him that you’ll be taking the day off tomorrow.” Connor commented.

“Good to know.” Gavin hummed. Thank god, because he really didn’t want to go to work the next day. Tina’s phone buzzed. She took one glance at the device before standing up.

“Gotta go, Valarie needs me.” She said.

“I should probably be going to.” Connor added.

“Cya guys later.” Gavin waved goodbye as the two detectives left the apartment. Nines gave polite smiles but didn’t say anything. As soon as the apartment door closed, the whole room went silent.

Gavin glanced up at his partner. He couldn’t see Nines’ LED at the angle he was at. That was probably intentional. If Gavin had to guess, it wasn’t blue. The detective nudged Turnip, who took the memo and slid off her owner’s lap. Gavin shifted so that his leg was elevated on the coffee table (which was cleared off, probably Nines). The android beside him glanced down, staring at the unspoken invitation to sit down.

He must have accepted it, because he sat down on the couch. Nines’ hand was held to his mouth, like he was biting his artificial nails.

“You okay?” Gavin hummed, breaking the silence.

“Optimal.” Nines replied. Gavin smirked.

“Are you worried about me?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Definitely.”

“Dammit, I thought I was subtle.”

Gavin laughed. Obviously, the android’s attempt at subtly wasn’t very good. Gavin could feel the anxiety radiating off of his partner like a space heater.

“Look, if it’ll make you feel better,” Gavin began. “You can stay here to make sure i’m okay.”

“Really?” Nines asked.

“Yeah. You’ve stayed over plenty of times before, what’d be so different about this time?” Gavin smiled. Nines smiled back.

“I...I’d like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> once again, not related to the chapter but:
> 
> gavin: it smells like wrong dog in here
> 
> nines : what’s wrong dog?
> 
> gavin, sobbing : everything

**Author's Note:**

> eeeeee sorry if it's short,, i'm bad at writing-  
> anway,, i was pretty nervous about posting this so please be nice :')  
> have a good day/night and stay safe! i'll be working on continuing this,, probably


End file.
